


Phase Shift

by Tergen



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 00:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tergen/pseuds/Tergen
Summary: A chance of fate, a rift in time and space drew Riley in. What will she do knowing all she does of the games and adrift in a time thousands of years prior to any known event? She was the Protheans hope but never the vengeance they wanted. No, she would be the hope they did not ask for.





	1. Chapter 1

Well this is my new headcanon. One that kinda drew its own wings and ran away from me. Its a new start and honestly i've been having some issues with updating the other stories. Still trying to write myself out of the corner I put myself into. With things are they are, it might be slow after i post all the chapters i've written so far. Either way, thank you for reading and as always, BioWare owns ME and MEA stuff but let me play in their sandbox. Leave love and critiques!  
________________________________________  
She put the finishing touches on her project, mouse pointer moving up to the file menu and clicking. Save scene, save project, exit. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and watched as the program shut itself down on her primary monitor. Her IM on the other monitor flashed and she glanced over to see a teammate had asked something. She responded and then groaned as her hands rubbed over her face. It was late and her bed beckoned.  
She got up and fell on to her bed, the cat jumping up after her waited for the woman to roll over to her back. Then the feline snuggled herself up under the woman's chin. Incidentally, the woman just shut down, sleep coming with a vengeance. Both monitors shut down after a half hour, flickering off and leaving the room dark.  
The calico cat woke up first, her whiskers twitching as she opened her eyes and stared out in the dark. Slowly the fur along her back rose up and a low growl rumbled from the tiny throat. In the dark at the foot of the bed a light started to appear. It was just a dot at first and then suddenly it fell down, leaving a thicker line of light in its wake.  
The cat's growling grew louder and between that and the bright light, they woke the woman up. Her eyes shot open and she blinked a few times trying to understand what that growling noise was.  
"Nunn? Cat?" She said and her hand came down to stroke the cat who continued to growl. What was that light? She turned her head to blink at the line of light. Then she turned her head slightly, trying to hear the sudden voices that came from afar distance.  
'….osing it! S….rep? ..enry… boo…power! Sir?! S…ethin… side. … t's goin…. low! Shut it down! What…. ell is tha…?"  
Those voices echoed into hear ears and both the woman and the cat watched as suddenly the light grew brighter, masking the tendrils of energy leaking from it and it was too late before she realized they had reached for her and the cat. Then she felt a tug and everything went white on her then black as she lost consciousness.  
The stasis machine caught the two creatures in its grasp before the energy rift expired and dragged them back from where ever they came. Once the light levels came back to normal he lowered his arm to see what they had caught. Moving closer he found a surprise and at the same time a puzzle.  
"Are those primitives from N243AM?" Velor asked, glancing over at his colleague.  
The first one moved closer. "Yes and no. More advanced than the ones we know of. Helnor did you get the readings before the rift collapsed on us?"  
Helnor nodded. "Yes Galedo. We almost lose the entire facility to a power spike akin to a supernova. What ever happened caused this." He motioned with his tri digit hand towards the stasis field.  
"Interesting. We might have accidently discovered the future of the N243AM primitives. Can you get any readings?" Galedo tapped one finger against his lip, curious.  
"Seems to be a female of their kind. Her genetic structure has evolved well past the ones we know. The other creature, not sure what it is. Its genetic structure we will have to unravel."  
"Good. Do so. We need to study the subjects. Perhaps this can be our hope of the future." Galedo sighed and turned away from the two and stared at his friends and co-workers. "We are the last and our empire has crumbled. We need some way of reaching to the future. Perhaps she is it."  
Helnor titled his head slightly. "Female, age about 40 of her years. Sedentary lifestyle I would guess. Overweight. Musculature proves so, lack of movement. Eyesight is impaired a bit, not too much but enough to make things blurry I surmise. She also…, dear gods of our fathers. Her brain functions at a higher level than even yours."  
Galedo jerked his head up and the moved over to the console, entering in his own commands. He suddenly relaxed and sighed. "It appears the primitives of N243AM are the hope for the future. This one especially."  
"Are you thinking of enhancements?" Velor stepped closer and Galedo nodded.  
"What of the other creature?" Helnor motioned and Galedo frowned.  
He moved over to the console and typed in a few commands, eyes glittering as he pulled up the display. "In its current state it is too small to do anything."  
"True but we can put it through the reconstruction sequencer. If that primitive is the hope of our future we better give her something else to help with. Enlarging its skull would give it more room for a higher functioning brain."  
"Include a ha'k'zen module," Galedo said distractedly.  
"Ah, I see. This is an evolved version of those creatures with the long teeth that hunt the primitives and other smaller creatures." Helnor motioned to the displace he threw up on the main haptic. On the holographic screen was a tan creature, another feline with two long fangs, a sabretooth. "We could resequence it to this?"  
Galedo shook his head slowly. "Not to that. Refocus the body though to that size. The appendages, those claws, they need to be tougher. Tough enough to carve through zeldinum. Higher brain function. Ability to communicate with the female I think."  
Velor paused and then chuckled. "I can reformat the control module into a link between them."  
Galedo noded. "Do it. We have a lot of work to do." He touched the console again and Velor brought out two rolling beds where they put the two and then wheeled them to another room. The feline went into a large pod while the female went into a smaller one.  
________________________________________  
5 years later  
Velor sighed and rubbed his arm. "It is time."  
Galedo set his drink down and glanced at Velor then at the sleeping Helnor, nudging his friend with a foot.  
Helnor woke with a blink and slowly sat up. "What?"  
"It is time to wake Sal'ven," Galedo said softly.  
He nodded and rose up with a groan. "It is done then? The final enhancement?"  
"It worked. The brain waves are off the chart. On both." Velor spoke up and then smiled at the both of them.  
Galedo stood up on one side of the pod, Helnor on the other and Galedo nodded to Velor. He hit a button and a hissing came from the pod holding the female primitive for over 5 years. After the hissing stopped the lid slowly rose up and came to a stop. In the cradle inside was the evolution of humanity enhanced by Prothean ideals.  
She laid there, unmoving and the three glanced at each other before Velor tapped at the console. "Heart rate is steady, brain waves are rising. She should be awake." He was puzzled a moment.  
Helnor jumped back as a hand rose up and rested on the edge of the cradle. Galedo smirked at his friend and then moved closer and reached in. "Here, sit up slowly Sal'ven," he said softly.  
The female groaned and grasped at the helping hand, slowly sitting up and then shivering. The words sounded strange to her, like they were not English yet she understood them. She was cold and started to shiver more.  
"Helnor grab the under suit," Velor said as he moved over to detached the wires from the back of her neck and body.  
Helnor hurried over and with his and Galedo's help, they dressed her up in the under suit that evened out her body temperature. She stopped shivering at that point. And that's when she looked up and before any of them knew it, she flipped literally over the pod and came to rest on the far side without thinking about it.  
"What the fuck are you?" Her eyes were wide in shock as she sat down heavily and then scrambled away in fright.  
The three looked at each other and then Galedo sighed. "Please Sal'ven, we will not hurt you." He held his hand out towards her, making no move.  
"Hope? No… my name is Riley." Her grey eyes flickered between the three beings who while strange brought up a sense of familiarity that made her freeze up.  
A laugh from the one holding its hand out to her made her dart her eyes towards him. "You are our Sal'ven, Riley," he said quietly. "Think a moment."  
She blinked at them and then furrowed her brows as information suddenly popped up like an old memory. The war for generations, the defeat, the lack of hope, the last of them. Her eyes slowly moved between the three then lowered to her hands. All this information while new wasn't quite new to her. Some yes, but a lot of it… was the game.  
"How did I get here?" Riley stared at Galedo.  
"Through a rift we created by accident. I believe we brought you from the future of your race," Galedo said.  
Riley laughed and shook her head. "More than just the future. You breached into a alternate future. One where your past never happened. To be honest, where nothing really too exciting happened up to this point for me."  
Galedo gave a curious look to her as she sighed and then Helnor started cursing. They all looked at him in surprised shock as he started pacing.  
"Remember Bathor's writings?" He glanced over at Galedo who slowly nodded then his eyes widened in sudden realization.  
"By the ancestors." Galedo lowered his arm and shook his head before freezing a moment and turning back to Riley. "Why?"  
She understood right away what he was asking. "Because in my time you are nothing more than a game that I played. A game that is set a few hundred years in my time's future." She shook her head and then rubbed her hands over her face. "I mean in the game your race became extinct due to the Reapers. Well except for one but he will be the last after. Things go on for far too long and powers supplies didn't last as long as they could have. The AIs had to slowly power down pods. Never did get the entire history." She sighed and looked up. "And now, I am sort of stuck here in the past."  
They all watched as she suddenly turned her hand over a few times then looked down. Slowly she rose up and her hands ran over her body. "What exactly did you do to me…?"  
Galedo shrugged. "We fixed you. You were evolved from the primitives of your planet already so we had a good idea of how the evolution was going. All senses are enhanced. We fixed the issues with your eyesight and your body's weight was caused by radical cells that would have killed you eventually. Bone and muscle were enhanced with carbon fibers. Some cybernetics were added to help with your companion."  
"Companion…? Wait… did you drag Bell here too?" She gave them all startled looks.  
Helnor pointed to the pod she was leaning against and Riley turned, using it to pull herself to her feet and peered in to it. "What did you do to her?"  
Velor moved over to the console and typed on it. The body rotated till its door was facing her. Then a hiss came from it and once that sound stopped the door opened. Bell slide out onto the floor and Riley marveled at the changes to her one time pet. She was huge, larger than a lion or tiger. Her hand stroked over the still calico pelt of the feline and suddenly both froze up as another set of thoughts entered Riley's mind.  
'Light… danger… defend…," it was like an echo of recording from a distance.  
Sensations came over her as the thick and heavy muzzle twitched. Warmth and other things she couldn't quite understand at that moment hit her. Riley leaned over and smiled, scratching behind Bell's ear. "Hey baby girl," she said and rubbed her face against the cat's muzzle.  
'Mama?' That voice came again and with it a purr rumbled from the feline's throat.  
Riley glanced up at the three Protheans and then arched a brow. "So… you made her able to talk to me?"  
Helnor frowned a little and then did a scan. "Not… exactly. We cannibalized a bonding module but that seems to have some unexpected effects. Hmm."  
Velor moved over and looked over his friend's shoulder to watch the reading. "Ah it somehow connected to the translation module." He pointed to something on the screen and Helnor nodded. "We only wanted a connection between the two of you, one that would keep the feline at your side as a defender."  
Bell opened her eyes slowly, seeing her mama there but her touch calmed her. The others, those strange creatures she didn't growl at because she knew they were not trying to harm her mother or her. Nose and muzzle twitched as scents filled her nose and she sat up slowly, trying to untangle too large limbs.  
Riley started to giggle softly at Bell because she was hearing the confusion about her size change. The sound was enough to make the three Protheans pause and give a version of their own smile. They realized they had pulled someone from a alternate timeline into their war.  
Galedo sighed and sat down. "Forgive us for pulling you into a battle that we are unsure anyone can win. Our desperation to find the key…" He trailed off.  
Riley turned her head and studied the old Prothean who sat there a moment. "In a way you did find the key but the problem is. What I know of the future can be changed by the actions I take unless there is a real reason to change it. I do know that because of you and others, that the next cycle will most likely be the last. Many lives will be lost but nothing like what happened to your empire and all previous cycles."  
Helnor nodded. "Very true. We enhanced you and meant for you to sleep till the next cycle was almost upon the galaxy. Because of this, and what you say and what we know. Its possible what happened to us will happen to you if we put you in a stasis pod."  
Riley snorted softly. "I know of what place that would work. Humanity in this timeline found what is called the Mars base. It's the red planet past Earth."  
Velor nodded. "Research station Gamma743. As far as I know, we did not keep any stasis pods there which mean it is possible that power sources could be fixed."  
Riley held her hand up. "Solar power but it has to be something that can rise up and descend after collection. Otherwise it will be discovered too soon.  
They nodded the Galedo tapped his chin. "I believe they had Courage there. It might be shut down. It can be restarted though."  
Riley looked around the room. "I hate to ask but I know we are not there, so how are we going to get there?"  
Velor chuckled. "This is a ship, it was buried under the ground and shut down till the Reapers returned to dark space.  
Riley nodded slowly. "It is best that I learn all I can and then we be put in stasis pods till the facility is discovered. Have it release me at that point when they crack it open."  
________________________________________  
It took them a full standard year before they finally made it to the planet that would be Mars. In that time frame Riley learned all she could of the history of the extinct race called Prothean. After these three, the last would remain buried till the time came to unearth him.  
Then the time came for Riley and Bell to sleep again. They had built a room deeper in the facility and hid it. The AI known as Courage would keep her safe and keep the collection of solar energy safe till it came time for Riley to awake. The three Protheans watched as their Sal'van once again was laid to sleep along with her companion. Each of them kept vigil over to her till they all expired, leaving her as the only gift they could give for the future.


	2. Chapter 2

"Amazing! Look at these readings," said a young man sitting at his station.  
"What is it, Ensign Moore?" A older male moved over to the station.  
"Element zero, sir. Traces of and centralized along the southern portions of Mars." Ensign Moore narrowed the display to show the hotspots he had found.  
The older man narrowed his eyes a moment then nodded. "As you were." He turned away and walked out of the room, heading down a level to the Captain's Quarters. With the door closed he knocked twice firmly and waited.  
"Enter," another voice spoke through the closed door and he opened the door and strode in, stopping before the desk and lifting his hand up to salute the Captain.  
"Sir, I thought you should know that one of the Ensign's has found traces of Element Zero on Mars. I think we need to get the Eggheads here to figure out why. Why now when this was never sighted before?" The first man said and then stiffened up straight, realizing he hadn't quite been proper with his commanding officer.  
The captain waved his hand, not caring. "Lieutenant Commander Shepard, at ease. Sit, Jack." He turned and pulled out a few glasses then poured a finger full of whiskey into each and offered his lifelong friend one glass. Then he pressed a button on his desk. "Ensign Gray, raise up Naval Command for me. It would be Admiral Grant who I need to speak with."  
"Sir, I have Admiral Grant on the horn for you," the voice came back after a moment.  
"Transfer him in," The Captain said and waited.  
"Mark, what can I do for you?" Grant's voice came from the display. Shepard couldn't see the Admiral but he could hear him.  
"Jessie, we need your eggheads to come here. There's a possibility of a eezo deposit. I know the brass has wanted to get more material." The captain leaned back.  
"I'll have a detachment sent to you and they should arrive in the next day. If you can get your guys to get more information before they arrive I would appreciate that," Grant said.  
"We'll be waiting. Thank you sir," the captain said then gave a salute. He disconnected the call before turning his attention back to the LC. "So Jack, how's your girl doing?"  
For a moment Jack blinked and looked down then gave a faint smile. "Very sure she wants to follow her old man. I put in a request for leave so we can celebrate her fifteenth birthday in a few weeks. She wants to see the Academy. God knows Hannah's just as stubborn as her mother was."  
The captain chuckled. "I know what you mean. Mark is actually considering the marines instead of navy."  
Both men grinned briefly at their children's wants. "Sir, I should go back and make sure the children haven't gotten into trouble. I'll make sure they focus on the area that Ensign Moore located."  
The both stood up and saluted then Shepard left to go make sure they did more survey of the area. By the time the researchers arrived, they had found a more concentrated area but not much else. Due to the concentration a base was set up nearby and more crew was transferred over.  
It took over a year before they realized that the eezo hid a secret, a cache of highly advanced Prothean tech and another secret that wouldn't be unveiled till later. Due to the discovery of refined eezo and the cache, this catapulted the space race forwards by years if not centuries.  
________________________________________  
One year later…  
The room was dead dark and dusty for the millennia of disuse. Dust think enough to give a good coating over everything. Once in a while one could hear the sound of machinery. Then the clang of metal against metal came and the machinery sound ended. Only for scraping to start and the door at one side of the room started to move slightly.  
"Come on Dan, dig deeper. We are almost there." One man said and waved for the digger to scoop up another bucket of Martian dirt.  
"I got it Sal. Don't bunch your panties," came a sarcastic reply.  
The man next to Sal snickered and nudged him and he gave a slight shove back as he watched the bucket come down. Then the sound changed from the soft sluff of dirt to the clang of metal against metal. "Woah woah hold off, shut it down!" Sal waved his hands frantically.  
The digger driver shut the machine down after pulling the bucket back and then jumped down from his seat. He checked his pressure and then grunted. "Sal we got about Fifteen minutes before we have to go back and resupply."  
"Dan call them in, I think we found it," Sal said as he took a shovel and started to dig down where the bucket had been. The dirty gleam of metal was uncovered after a few scoops.  
"Fuck me, you were right. Holy hell, this is going to be the biggest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls!" Dan turned away and jumped back up into the digger's seat and then contacted the base. "Epsilon base this is Team Omega. Come in."  
"Go ahead Team Omega," the voice responded.  
"We need a detachment here along with the aux staff. We've found something," Dan said and stood up to look at the two men who were clearing the dirt from the doorway.  
"Understood Omega, you should have a detachment in ten with the eggheads. Epsilon out."  
"Understood, Omega out." Dan then jumped down and started to help them clean up the doorway.  
By the time the unit of marines and scientist arrived they had cleared the door and forced it open but waited. All three men saluted the Commander who arrived with the troops. The commander ordered two of the marines to search in the building and the two lifted their weapons and entered, turning on the lights attached to their weapons.  
After a few minutes the all clear came in and the scientist flooded into the darkened room. It didn't take them long to find another door and that lead to another room with more doorways All of the doorways were closed and the lead scientist grumbled about it.  
Weeks passed and more and more scientists found their way into the wonder of the prothean's cache. Eventually they rigged up a power supply and slowly life came back to the abandoned base. This lead to the discovery of the mass effect fields and its usage. This also lead to the discovery that what they thought was a moon orbiting Pluto was actually a relay which would lead them into the future.  
Deeper beneath the lowest floor a room rested. The lack of dust spoke of just how air tight it was. Two pods rested in that room, lights still flashing and a console that blinked. One light turned from red to green and a click was heard at the door into the room, the elevator shaft behind slowly lighting up.  
The console lit up as power flooded into the base and a green segmented globe flickered to life before it rotated towards the pods. A small shelf opened and a chip lit up briefly as the green globe flickered and died out, the shelf, more a tray, closing up. On the display the message 'Transfer completed' showed briefly then disappeared. Time had come and humanity was about to discover all they thought they knew was not all they should have known.  
________________________________________  
6 months after discovery…  
The two men wandered the facility, tracing the power conduits. A while back they noticed that the power was going somewhere else but couldn't pinpoint it. So two specialists came in and started to trace the fluctuations. Eventually it lead towards a unfrequented portion of the facility only because the rooms had nothing of interest to them.  
"Hmm, this conduit leads to this room and then stops…. There?" The one man said and gave his partner a confused look.  
"What? Let me see?" The other man moved over and grabbed the reader from the first's hands and then waved it over. Then he angled it down before pulling out something else and aiming it at the wall. "Fuck me, there's some sort of empty space on the other side of this wall. Maybe a undiscovered part of the facility?"  
The first nodded and then took out his own reader and aimed it at the wall. "Hmm it's a shaft of some sort, similar to the elevator on level 3 but… it goes way farther down. We better call this in."  
The second steps away and lifts his arm up. "Commander, this is Specialist Nicolas. We've found what appears to be another level to this facility. We are going to need some of the eggheads here and a squad to reconnoiter."  
"What?" That was the surprised response he got back and he had to stifle a snicker. "Specialist Nicolas, please wait for Rhino Squad to meet you with the eggheads," came after a brief silence.  
"Understood Commander. We will await." Then he turned towards his partner and shrugged. "Let's make sure that's all that is here."  
The two scanned the entire room and by accident the first Specialist activated a console hidden in the wall. He jumped back as the console flickered to life, a haptic interface, and started blinking. Both men looked at each other then backed away. They could feel the minute rumbling under their feet as something moved. Both figured that the elevator was rising up.  
"Specialist Nicolas?" A voice said behind them and both turned.  
"Yes?" Nicolas stepped forwards.  
"I am Sergeant White of Rhino Squad," the armored man said as he stepped through the door.  
Nicolas saluted quickly and his partner echoed him. "Whatever this is, it is rising up. We touched nothing and only scanned."  
White nodded and motioned for his squad to spread out in the room. The scientist waited out in the hall and both Specialists moved out there with them, waiting and watching. Eventually the rumbling was loud enough to hear and it was getting closer. The squad lifted up their weapons and aimed them at where they thought the door would be.  
Everyone watched as the wall slide apart and showed what would be considered a large room. What was more amazing was the two large machines resting in the room with lights flickering. White sent two of his men in and with weapons raised they entered, searching the room and then lowering them after calling out the all clear.  
The scientist rushed forwards towards the machines and then one reeled back and ran smack into one of the marines. The marine steadied the scientist then moved to see what caused the issue.  
"Damn, that's one big cat. Sergeant, take a look at this…?" the marine gestured towards the slightly frosted viewing window of the pod.  
White moved over to see and blinked a bit. Cat was understatement. It was mottled like a calico cat was but larger than a lion. "Is that a tortie pattern?"  
One of the marines snickered at his CO and nodded. "Yep, my kid has a little mean thing with similar coloring."  
"Well we better call in the rest, it appears these are stasis pods because the other is holding a form of what might be a Prothean," the other scientist said, eyes gleaming.  
White moved over and ran his glove over the surface of the viewing port only to see a well armored individual. He made note that there was a patch on the shoulder and frowned at that. "Lt If that's a Prothean I'll eat my boot," he drawled out and snorted.  
"What?" The Lt glanced over, not sure what. Then he saw the patch. "Oh, that can't be right. Everything says this pod has been in stasis for almost fifty thousand years."  
"Well this just became black ops boys. I am issuing Alpha Rio Zeta orders now," White said. The order confused the Specialist and the scientist a moment then all four realized that the red and white insignia on the shoulder of the sergeant overruled them. "Private Brown, Private Hendrick, secure the scientist and specialist till we get orders."  
"Sir," both said and moved over with their rifles pointed at the four. All of them held their hands up in surrender as the two removed any weapons from their person.  
White ignored it as he turned and lifted his wrist. "Code seven seven six whiskey foxtrot." He waited a minute.  
"Operative White, what is the sitrep," the voice calmly said.  
"Stasis pods aged at close to fifty kay with an armored figure wearing an old first division patch. Orders?" White glanced over his shoulder at the two pods.  
There was silence for longer than he figured and he blinked slowly and glanced over. "You are here by ordered to guard the pods till a team can retrieve them. All personnel will be evaluated then debriefed."  
"Roger Control. White out," he said and lowered his arm as he turned towards everyone.  
Everyone knew something was going on and it was big when the Knights started to come out of the woodwork and converge on the site. Everyone was corralled into the prefabs and the window shutters closed down. Four hours later everyone was released and no one the wiser about what happened.  
Hours later a nondescript Kodiak landed in Rio De Janeiro. The pad it was on started to lower and doors closed overhead, delivering its precious cargo to a facility that was on no one's radar except for those who knew of it.  
________________________________________  
The finishing touches were put on the pods and power applied. One of the people checked things and then nodded before turning to the other. Both men wore armor and their faces were obscured by darkened helmets. One held up a pad and tapped the screen before turning to the other.  
"Is it done?" The second asked.  
"It is done Dragon. From the scans she's fine though definitely older than any of us. Human somehow… but the readings, just a tad off. I have Solar working on it. She's already hypothesized that perhaps this one is not from our universe."  
"Truly? Well Zeta, keep me abreast of what you find. If things are compatible I cannot see why we cannot release her from her sleep. What do you think?" He turned to Zeta at that point.  
Zeta nodded. "I have a very strong interest in seeing what information we can get from her. I won't lie about that. How we get that information though, remains to be seen."  
Dragon nodded slowly. "I want an update in twenty four hours. From there the Division will make their decision. Carry on." He turned and exited the room.  
Zeta stood there a moment and eyed both pods before moving over to the larger and looking over the scan. Feline, more akin to a house cat than a prehistoric feline. This would prove interesting. He could see some implants were added and changes made.  
It wasn't till his stomach growled at him that he realized just how much time had passed. He set his pad down and left the room, heading towards the mess. His hand swiped over the palm pad before he left and set the room on lockdown.  
Just after the door sealed itself the smaller pod started to hiss, releasing the gases that had kept the figure in stasis. Once that finished, the door started to lift and a hand rose up to grip the side. By the time the door finished its movement, many minutes had passed and Zeta was on his way back from his lunch.  
________________________________________  
Another point of view….  
Riley slowly woke up to silence and the sound of the pod's door opening. She reached up to grab the side of the pod and then went still as her head spun. It made her sick enough that she wanted out and to spill her guts. At least that's what she wanted to do.  
What actually happened was she lurched up, ended up hanging over the edge and then frantically reached up to hit the button to let the helmet drop. It hit the floor with a thwack and rolled away as she started to heave straight bile from her stomach. And that was the perfect timing for Zeta to have slapped the palm pad and the door to open to the sight of the pod's occupant puking her guts out.  
Riley heard the door open and she gagged before sliding out of the pod and landing on her back with a groan of pain and dizziness. With all the will she had left she rolled over and pushed herself to her feet only to sway out of the way of the ball of energy that suddenly came towards her.  
Zeta stood there a moment in surprised indecision then he lifted his arm up. "Code Omega," he said and then charged up an overload and sent it towards the occupant that managed to dodge out of the way. He had a brief moment of being impressed before she moved towards him. Next thing he knew was the floor became the ceiling and then he hit the ground with an oof of pain, his arm twisted behind his back in an arm lock with his wrist locked up.  
Riley didn't even think but she did retaliate as she rushed him and then threw him over her hip and to the ground, holding on to his arm and putting pressure on his wrist so he wouldn't move. "Who are you?" She spoke, her words coming out in Prothean at first and not realizing it.  
The door burst open at that point and three men entered with weapons up and firing. Riley leaned back and pulled Zeta to his feet, using him as a shield as the rounds pinged off his shield. The men quit firing on her but kept their weapons aimed at her. She noticed the armor, the symbol on the chest plates and then another person entering the room. The three men lowered their arms down as the other woman, in a uniform similar to the armor, motioned.  
"Pardon the welcoming. Sometimes men act before they actually think things over." She glared at Riley but Riley realized she was directing that glare to the person she had a hold of.  
For a moment Riley had to literally think about speaking English after so long. "Sometimes… it is hard to… not react to defend. I honor the response."  
If everyone had their helmets off, Riley would have been met with five expressions of surprise. As was she only had to contend with the woman. And at that point things were going in and out of focus for her. She released the man she had a hold off and put pressure on his shoulder briefly, knowing it would release the strain, then lowered her hands down. There was no need for her to fight them.  
"Zeta please step away and go sit down," the woman said and then sighed as the man made his way gingerly over to the chair. "Pardon me. I am Miriam Jones, call sign Hawk. And you?"  
Riley blinked at the man then returned her waning attention to the woman just in time to catch her name. "Riley Sal'ven," she said without giving more out. Then she knew she was either going to pass out or puke again and held up one finger. "Excuse me...," she managed to get out before her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she crumpled.  
One of the three men who had arrived to the Omega call was fast enough to catch her before she hit her head, rushing up and catching her before she managed to complete her fall. At that point the woman he held started to seized up and all's he could do was hold her head and neck steady as she had a seizure and continued to vomit.  
Zeta jumped to his feet and pulled his helmet off, dropping it as he went over to the drawer and pulled out two cartridges and a hypo spray. "Shit, it's the stasis." He slide up, on his knees, alongside of the marine holding the woman and then introduced both cartridges into her neck quickly.  
Hawk frowned, concerned a moment but relaxed once the woman's twitching stopped along with the vomiting. "Tank bring her to medical. Zeta… clean up the mess please and then come up to medical after." She sighed. "Dane won't like this, I think." She was heard muttering as she shook her head and turned around, heading the way she had come.  
Hawk gave a dead stare to Scalpel, the doctor twitching as he gripped his hands together tightly. The doctor wasn't past admitting Hawk scared him shitless. Swallowing, he forced himself to look down at his pad and read over it, turning his attention away. Hawk curled her arms over her chest and waited for the man to speak.  
"So, umm, she's sleeping right now. Obviously. She… umm… it was the long stasis that caused the seizure and the vomiting." He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "If she had come out slower from the stasis, she might not have reacted like this."  
Zeta huffed. "I didn't do anything. I ran some scans and then went to lunch. When I came back she was hanging over the side puking her guts out."  
Hawk rolled her eyes towards Zeta. "And you thought shooting her up was ideal?" The words were as cold as the artic.  
"It was an overload, it wouldn't have harmed her," he grumbled.  
"Unn… actually it might have. She has some cybernetics I haven't been able to figure out origin on," Scalpel piped up then his gaze darted between the two quickly. He lifted up the pad. "They are integrated with her hardsuit if these readings are correct. That seems a bit dangerous to me because one overload might really hurt her."  
"Even at her disadvantage she managed to dodge out of the way. Even Whipcord couldn't do that and she's the quickest damn fighter we have," Zeta pointed out and then shook his head.  
Hawk arched a brow then turned to watch the sleeping woman. "I will talk to Dane. She could be an asset to the program. We'd have to run her through the Gauntlet though to know for sure." She looked up at the two of them. "Zeta, go back down and slowly ease the cat out of stasis. Make sure you can cage it and keep it from getting out. We don't need the complex mauled. Scalpel, make sure she's healthy. I want a report in two hours from the both of you."  
Both men relaxed once Hawk left the room then gave each other a look that said they were glad to not have her there. Zeta went back down to start the process of reviving the huge cat in the pod. Scalpel recorded everything and took a blood sample and some tissue samples and put them into the analyzer.


	3. Chapter 3

Hawk sat down and watched Dane as he looked over the security footage. He watched it a few times then set the pad down and steepled his fingers. She waited for him to speak, patience having been pounded into her long ago.  
"Tell me your thoughts Hawk," he finally said and lifted his gaze up to her.  
"The Gauntlet," she said and watched as his eyebrow twitched in surprise.  
"Hmm… it is an idea. Do you think… no you wouldn't have suggested it if she didn't. My only concern is that she is an unknown. There are no records of her at all."  
Hawk smirked. "She's almost fifty thousand years old Dane. I doubt we'd find any genetic signatures."  
He nodded slowly and rubbed his chin. "Get Tracer to do a full set of docs for her. Orphan background, recruited into the program straight after basic. I am putting her under your charge. If she fucks up, it's on you Hawk. Make sure she doesn't."  
Hawk nodded. "Acceptable to me. Is there anything else?"  
Dane nodded and offered her another pad. "Our newest recruits. They need to be assigned to their sections."  
Hawk nodded and then rose up. "As soon as we have more information, I will appraise you, Dane."  
Scalpel re-analyzed the samples four times before he sat down, blinking. He reread the results another few times before turning to give a much in awe look to the sleeping woman. Reaching over, he pressed a button and waited a moment.  
"This is Hawk," her voice came over the coms.  
"I have a report for you but I prefer not to send it over the network," he said.  
"I can be down there in ten," she said, a bit of annoyance showing up in her voice.  
"I'll be here," he said and the coms flickered off as Hawk cut the connection.  
In the meantime he worked on finishing up the report, adding in the data he gained from the samples he had taken. Then he moved over to the haptic interface on the wall and pulled up the blood sample, fanning out all the data gained. That's how Hawk found him when she entered the medical section.  
Scalpel heard the door open and he glanced over then motioned for her. "Here, look at this. See the DNA structure?" He enlarged the picture with a gesture as Hawk came to a stop next to him.  
"What am I looking at?" She wasn't a doctor or medic so some of this while familiar looking wasn't something she understood.  
"This sequence, this is not human and neither are these two," he said and highlighted them. "The rest has a familial match to a teacher in the New England area. I can say with some certainty there is about a eight to ten generation gap. So you tell me how someone from something like three hundred years ago could be fifty kay years old?" He ended with and stepped back.  
Hawk shrugged. "I leave that supposition up to Zeta's group. Have you any idea on this rogue DNA at all?"  
Scalpel shook his head. "No, but it matches up with these odd nodes I've found throughout her body. Unsure of what they do because I've never seen them. They sort of remind me of cancerous growths. As far as I can tell they are neither harmful or benign. Only thing I am sure of is her nervous system has some connection to them."  
Hawk nodded slowly, barely understanding what he was talking about. "I see," she said but her tone said she didn't.  
Scalpel rolled his eyes slightly and chuckled. "I think she will need frequent checkups to make sure they haven't turned into something harmful to her."  
A groan came from the side and both turned to see Riley's eyes flicker open, unfocused at first. Scalpel moved over and smiled down at her. She moved her eyes towards him a moment then blinked and sighed.  
"Where am I?" Her head ached like she had drunk too much the night before.  
"Infirmary at the Compound," he answered. "How are you feeling right now? Any more dizziness or nausea?"  
Riley nodded slightly. "My head is pounding like a jackhammer is drilling into it."  
"Hmm, hold on." Scalpel turned away, pulled a hypo-spray out and then turned back and tilted her head, giving her a jolt with it. "That should help."  
Riley just sighed as the pain started to recede and groaned in appreciation. "Gods, thanks."  
"We need to talk," Hawk broke in as she sat down on the cot next to Riley. "Scalpel, make yourself scarce for now." She waited for the doctor to leave before tilting her head slightly.  
Riley pushed herself into a sitting position, gaze flickering around the room briefly before returning to Hawk. "About?"  
Hawk made note of her brief look around the room and smirked. "Well how many ways of escape did you just find?"  
Riley shrugged. "Counting the cot? Seven." She didn't say more than that but all the same Hawk just nodded.  
"From what we understand, you are from the near and distant past somehow. And you're not entirely human. Which then brings to mind why?"  
Riley stared at her with a blank expression a moment then pursed her lips. "The truth is you wouldn't believe me if I went full monty. Partial truth? I was taken, modified and then woke up and trained for one purpose. To fight."  
Hawk stared at the woman in the bed but none of her works rang with less than truth and she sighed. "I understand you do not trust us yet. We can leave that be for now. I have a feeling it would be a good idea to gain your trust" She leaned back slightly. "I made a suggestion to the boss that you would be an ideal candidate for the group here."  
Riley nodded. "I am guessing you want to test me…?"  
Hawk nodded. "We'll get you into the range first and get you familiar with our weapons before anything else. I am going to assign you to one of the sections. You'll join in their morning routine. The afternoons are going to be for familiarizing you with the range."  
Riley started to nod but then she froze up, her eyes becoming unfocused. Without a word she threw back the blanket and ran out of the infirmary, grabbing a IV bar without thinking. Hawk jumped up after her and followed the woman through the complex to the stairs and she couldn't keep up. Riley leapt over the bannister and dropped down three flights before throwing her shoulder into the door and busting through. Hawk realized she was heading back to where Zeta was and cursed under her breath. She skidded to a halt just outside the research room and blinked to find Zeta pressed against the wall and Riley with her arms wrapped around the feline who snarled at the man.  
Zeta refused to move with the cat snarling at him and Hawk realized she better not draw attention to herself while the cat was pissed off. Both watched as Riley pressed her head against the felines and then rubbed her cheek against the dark mottled fur. It took a few minutes before the snarling lowered into a disgruntled growl and finally a rumbling purr.  
Riley eyed Zeta who was plastered to the wall. 'You do realize you almost made him piss himself Bell…?'  
Amusement came from the cat. 'He deserves it for trying to cage me.'  
Riley sighed and scratched the cat behind the ear. 'Well we need their good will if we are going to help the future luv.'  
Bell grunted and then rubbed her cheek against Riley's leg. That was the only response she would get from the cat at that point. Sighing, Riley eyed Zeta and then gave him a sheepish look. "She doesn't like to be caged up."  
"No shit," Zeta said, sarcasm lacing his words.  
Hawk couldn't help but snort at Zeta's response as she eased into the room. "So, there was a good reason for the cat to be with you?"  
Bell lifted her head up to study Hawk a moment and Hawk shivered slightly at the intelligence she could see in the feline's eyes. It unsettled the woman and unconsciously she rubbed her hand up and down her arm. Riley chuckled and scrapped her fingers along Bell's jaw.  
"Her name is Bell. She was my cat in the past. Now she's my… partner." Then her eyes unfocused as she turned her head to look down at the cat. "Yes, you silly thing."  
Zeta and Hawk's gazes met at that strange response then Hawk cleared her throat. "Bell? What exactly is she…?"  
"Like me. She used to be this small sickly kitten I raised," Riley said and smiled at the memory. "She kept me company when I worked. She was my only real company."  
Bell nuzzled her arm and then rubbed her cheek against Riley's arm, knowing the pain those words brought out. "You might want to look up the term 'Beast master' for a better idea," Riley added on and ran her hand over Bell's broad head. "She really won't harm anyone unless they try to harm me or her. And frankly, she's a glutton for petting."  
Hawk silently winced at the look Riley gave her, that sad look. She sighed and shook her head. "I'll make sure we give you a separate room but she can't wander around too much."  
Riley nodded. "As long as she can go out once a day, it should be fine." She was not going to mention some other things and mentally poked Bell.  
Hawk sighed and then eyed them. "Well I assume you are feeling better now, yes?"  
Riley nodded and slowly stood up, the huge cat staying where she was. "Well you really won't have to worry about her. Bell?"  
The cat rose up and yawned before taking a step, her form flickering then disappearing with the first step. Riley leaned against the invisible cat as she rubbed up against her leg and then made Zeta jump as she nuzzled his hand. Riley watched as the cat then silently padded over to Hawk and rubbed against her leg. The woman in question stiffened, her fingers curling up into fists and gave Riley a look that could freeze the air.  
Riley just gave Hawk a bland smile before glancing over at Zeta who was in the process of coming to terms with what Bell could do. She turned her gaze back towards Hawk, her eyes meeting the woman's and they both stared till Hawk looked away.  
"I suppose I should go now. Familiarize myself with the weaponry you have in this time," Riley said quietly, really not trying to antagonize Hawk any more than she already had.  
Hawk frowned briefly at Riley then gave a curt nod. "Come," she said and turned around, walking out of the room.  
Riley motioned with a finger and Bell appeared, sitting next to Zeta and making him jump. Then the feline nuzzled the man's hand before trotting after Hawk. "She likes you," Riley said with a smile at Zeta before following Hawk.  
Zeta rubbed his chest, feeling how hard his heart was beating from the fright the cat had given him twice. With Riley's parting words he groaned and slid down the wall and cupped his face in his hands.  
Riley caught up to Hawk and silently followed her through the complex till they reached the armory. Ignoring Riley, Hawk moved towards the older man who was leaning over a disassembled rifle.  
"Ranger," she spoke quietly.  
Ranger held his hand up, one finger rising and not the middle one. "One moment," he said strongly and finished making a connection. Then he sighed as he stood up. "What do you want Hawk?"  
Riley stiffened the moment Ranger turned around the forced herself to relax. Bell leaned against her leg and started to groom her paw, not too impressed with anything and appearing unconcerned with her friend's reaction to the male across from them.  
"Got someone that needs to be run through the TWA. This is Riley. Riley this is Ranger," Hawk said and turned, her brow twitching at the strange look on Riley's face.  
Riley blinked and then nodded slightly. "Hello.," her voice was quiet as she studied Ranger.  
He was about her age, slightly balding though his neutral brown hair was close cropped along the sides and left a bit longer on the top. He had a stocky build and broad shoulders and his hazel eyes studied her in return.  
"Well come on over here then," Ranger motioned to Riley. "I've got her Hawk, I know you are busy."  
Hawn nodded and left the room with a glance over her shoulder. Riley watched her go then returned her attention to Ranger and waited, trying to calm herself. Ranger, himself, noticed she seemed slightly nervous for some reason and he figured because this was new to her. And that was a puzzle to him. This shouldn't be new to anyone that… well he wouldn't think too hard on it. Dane wouldn't have her here if she wasn't supposed to be.  
Riley moved over to his side and he turned, walking over to the wall where various weapons hung. She looked over everything but didn't touch them. Eyes focused on one of the shotguns, a precursor to the modern day Crusader. Ranger made note of that and of the Phalanx she eyed. He picked up the Tsunami V and placed it in her hands.  
"Come on. The range is over here." Ranger turned and walked towards a door and Riley followed him, clutching the rifle in her arms.  
She glanced around and counted the dozen stalls waiting with targets at the far end then she hurried to catch up to Ranger. He pointed to the table and she correctly guessed he wanted her to put the gun down so she did.  
"You will learn how to take that apart and put it back together but let's get you at least comfortable with firing it," he said after. He picked it up and held it correctly for her to see. "Never put your finger on the trigger till you are damn well sure you are going to fire it. Otherwise hold your finger like this." He illustrated it for her and she nodded. Then he pushed it into her hands.  
Riley held it like he had shown to her, keeping her finger along the trigger and not curled around it. She curled her other hand under the forestock. Then she looked at him for approval.  
Ranger nodded with a smile then adjust how she held it. "This is how you should hold it when not moving or not firing." He made sure she had the muzzle pointed upwards. Then he jerked his head towards the range and started walking.  
Riley followed and came up next to him. "Set that down there." She did as he said and waited.  
He picked up the rifle and then one of the magazines waiting. "You change mags like this." With ease he pushed the mag into its spot and then hit the release that popped it back out. "You try."  
Riley picked up the rifle, twisted it and then slapped the mag in like it was nothing to it then popped it back out and caught it. "Like that?"  
Ranger laughed. "Yup. So ammo up and then fire on that target down range."  
Riley picked up the mag, loaded it without looking then brought the stock up to her shoulder and then paused and lowered it down. She tilted the weapon again and then found the safety. She tapped it lightly with her finger then brought the rifle back up and aimed down range. Her finger curled around the trigger and she squeezed, the gun chattering in her arm as it released its payload on to the unsuspecting paper.  
When she emptied the mag she lowered the weapon down and popped the mag out, placing it on the counter then laying the gun down. Ranger hit the button and the target came up to them. He lifted a brow at the spread then smiled. "Well seems you are pretty good with this."  
"I just need some familiarization with your modern weapons because I am use to different types but they are still following all the same rules." She answered and then glanced up to him, staring at him again.  
Ranger arched a brow when the woman stared at him again and then took notice of her light blush as she looked away. "Huh. Ok, well I'll be right back." He walked away and returned with the shotgun and the Phalanx.  
The shotgun was the next thing he showed her and she repeated her performance. When he handed her the hand cannon he wasn't too surprised when she showed equal ease of use.  
He damn near jumped out of his skin when he turned to find this huge tiger like feline lying down out of the way. The shotgun he had been about to clear was aimed at the feline briefly before he found himself staring at the ceiling and wondering what happened.  
Riley reacted a bit harshly, she knew that but Bell meant a lot to her so when Ranger aimed the shotgun at the cat, she acted. Her hand popped the shotgun upwards and she kicked at the back of his knee which made him go down while she controlled the shotgun with a scowl at the man.  
"Seriously? She's been there the whole time and you just now see her?" Riley was angry and jarringly cleared the shotgun and removed its ammo before setting it down.  
"What?" He blinked at Riley.  
She frowned at him and then offered her hand to help him up. "Bell, she's been laying there since we entered the room. Don't you think she'd have attacked by now?"  
Ranger got up with her help and then furrowed his brows. "I take it she's yours?"  
Riley nodded. "Yea, no shit."  
He rubbed the back of his neck and then dropped his hand. "Well, can you blame me at all?"  
Riley shook her head slowly. "Yes and no. When you react instead of think, things go wrong. People die."  
He watched as she bit her lip and he could tell that something similar had happened to her in the past. "Well you make a good point. But how can you train anyone to think before acting? As a military body, we have to react otherwise we can get killed."  
Riley barked a laugh. "Knowing your surroundings helps. Keeping aware helps. Freaking looking around helps." She jabbed a finger at him with each sentence. "For Christ's sakes, what would happen if someone managed to infiltrate the complex and no one knew? You'd be dead because you thought you were safe."  
Ranger stiffened at her words and then he slowly straightened up. "You are right ma'am." Her words made too much sense to him. "I will try to do better," he said wryly with the corner of his mouth twitching.  
She just gave a curt nod then sighed and made a gesture towards Bell. The feline rose up and padded slowly over, sitting down next to Riley and then leaning against her. The feline gave a look to Ranger then lowered her had to groom her paw. "Well this is Bell. She used to be a housecat."  
Ranger arched a brow. "Used to be?"  
Riley nodded. "No one's told me not to say anything but I am a lot older than I look actually. Like fifty thousand years older."  
He eyed her like she was suddenly crazy. "Right…," he started.  
She lifted her hand up to stall him. "You can ask Zeta but a day ago I was in a stasis pod on Mars where they found the Prothean lab."  
Ranger knew that, knew they had found the ruins there so he frowned at her. "How?"  
Riley shrugged slightly. "Have you ever read or heard of something called parallel universes?"  
Ranger glanced up in thought and then nodded slowly. "I'm from one that's a lot more normal than this universe. Basically I was born in nineteen seventy three. In two thousand and twelve I was pulled fifty thousand years back in time and into a universe that was not mine by three Prothean scientist. They were hoping to stop something from happening the future. This, this is something I need to discuss with whoever is the leader here."  
Ranger's jaw dropped the more she spoke and when she was done he ran his fingers through his hair. "I see. No, I don't see but damn… what you are saying doesn't fill me with confidence that's for sure."  
Riley smiled faintly. "There are big changes on the way." She knew.  
He lifted a brow up. "Like?"  
Riley smirked. "You'll have to wait and see Ranger."  
He smiled and then offered his hand to her. "David. My name is David Ryder."  
She smiled and grasped his hand, shaking it. "Riley. This is Bell."  
A smile slowly crossed his face and he released her hand. "Pleased to meet you Ms. Bell," he said, light teasing in his voice.  
The cat peered up at him and then yawned before shifting to her feet and moving over to nuzzle her nose against his hand. Riley chuckled as Bell's approval came to her. David decided to scratch at her ear a little and that earned him a deep purr.  
"She likes you more than Hawk," Riley said and David snorted.  
"Ranger," Dane said. "How is our newest member handling things?"  
David stood there at parade rest and peered over at Dane. "Either she has extensive training or she's a natural. Her hand to hand is above most newbies. There's more to her than she's said but she's hinted that there will be a lot of things happening in the future. I get the impression she wants to talk about these things to you."  
Dane nodded slowly and then leaned back in his chair. "I see. I'll have Hawk bring her to me tomorrow. She needs to fit in seamlessly with the SpecTac Unit. Ideas on where that would be?"  
David smirked. "She's a front liner but I think she's holding back."  
Dane nodded. "The Gauntlet will uncover that."  
David straightened up and tilted his head slightly. "What? That…," he was at loss for words.  
"I know. Hawk feels she can and I think from what you say she might be one of the first to pass the full test." Dane tapped a finger against the desk top and sighed. "I'll let her know when I talk to her tomorrow. I get the feeling whatever she says is going to change things."  
David nodded. "Sir that is one thing I can say is not a lie. And that cat of hers."  
Dane chuckled. "Hawk's not made herself any friends."  
David just nodded. "Is there anything else?"  
Dane shook his head. "Not at this point. Have a good night."  
"Sir." David saluted Dane then turned and left the office.  
Dane pursed his lips and then sighed, removing his hood and running his fingers through his grey hair. With the discoveries of Riley and the Prothean cache, he figured things were definitely changing for them.


	4. Chapter 4

Riley joined the group of ten after breakfast the next day. She ate a light meal of toast knowing she would be able to eat better at lunch. The rest ate hearty and she smirked as she finished her coffee. The group was rounded up and paraded into the Armory and then given the basic armor which included a rifle and sidearm.  
David winked at one young man who bore a strong resemblance to him and Riley figured he was David's son. Ranger moved over to her and slapped a shotgun into her hands. "Here. Since your such a ball buster," he teased her and she smirked back.  
"That your son?" She jerked her head towards the other man and Ranger nodded. "Alec. Chip off the ol' block. Good luck."  
At that moment the TI called for their attention and got them moving out to the flight pad. Everyone loaded up and Riley was the last in. She settled in the seat and checked over her rifle first. Furrowing her brow she stowed it away then checked her side arm. She pulled the mag and then shoved it back in when she found it half full of ammo.  
Glancing up she found the rest hadn't cleared their weapons and her gaze moved over to the TI who gave her a smirk before turning and banging his hand on the shuttle's wall. It lurched up and then the TI grunted which caught everyone's attention. Riley paid him half her attention while she verified the shotgun was in working order.  
"Ok newbs. The mission is to make it to the LZ. If you do not make it then you will find yourself going back to where you came from. This is a live fire event," the TI said and Riley gave him a grin. She slipped the rifle from her shoulder and propped it up against the seat, having no intention in taking a useless weapon. "Oh, one more thing. We don't care how you do it."  
After ten minutes the shuttle started to slow down and Riley stood up, holding on to the bar above. Everyone else was a few seconds slower. When the shuttle stopped moving the TI opened the door and Riley jumped out, finding herself above a small body of water. She pointed her toes just before she hit the water and dived under then came up a distance away from the splash down.  
The rest floundered except for a few and followed her towards the shore as she started to swim, unworried. Once she hit land she brought up her pad and the display of the landing zone location. It was probably ten miles away on foot. The next one out was Alec and he walked up to her as she finished her assessment.  
"We have a walk of over ten miles to the LZ," she said to him.  
Alec nodded to the woman and then offered his hand. "Alec by the way."  
Riley shook it. "Riley. Clear your weapons."  
Alec blinked then pulled his rifle out. She heard him curse when he realized the rifle was not working. He checked his sidearm and at least that had some ammo but he realized he would have to spare it.  
"Well come on Ranger Jr," she said teasingly and started off in the direct of the LZ.  
Alec was startled a moment at that then he gave a laugh. "Dad huh?"  
"Yea. Quite a guy," she said distractedly as she brandished the shotgun.  
They were in a jungle area, thick tree cover and very little wildlife sound which made her nervous enough that she was watching the shadows. There was a path but she avoided it and nudged Alec when he started to head for it. Frowning she adjusted her helmet radio.  
"Go to zeta211," she said quietly before pulling the shield down on her helmet. Alec did that quickly and then pulled his shield down. "Do you copy?"  
"Copy Riley," Alec responded.  
"Ok this is live fire so someone's going to get hurt if they are not paying attention. Trails are easy traps. Making your own trail is hard but better than falling into a trap. They expect us at the LZ in six hours which is only about ten mile away. That tells me there are people out there ready to put holes in us. Normal walk would only take about half that time for ten miles. So keep paying attention to your surroundings."  
Alec was silent through her speech and then nodded when she looked at him. The two melted into the jungle and he followed her, watching for anything not normal. She paused about half a hour into their walk and then squatted down and motioned for him to do the same.  
"There's someone ahead. Stay here and keep watch in case they have back up. I am going to take them down." She pulled out a standard issue k-bar and shot him a grin before disappearing into the shadows. He kept quiet, not moving and waited for her to return.  
Riley stayed in the shadows, her eyes on the figure standing there waiting. The armored person was watching the trail with a rifle waiting. She quietly made her way over to them and when the leaned forwards to site through the scope she came up, wrapped her arm around his helm and then pressed the sharp edge of her knife against the weak point between helmet and chest plate.  
"Part of the event?" She asked quietly and he nodded. "Then you are dead," she answered and he grunted with a sigh.  
"Yea you got me," he said.  
Riley smirked as she sheathed her knife then nudged him. "I'm gonna need your weapons then good sir."  
He laughed. "Serves me right. Here," he handed her the rifle and sidearm.  
She nodded. "None of the rest cleared their weapons so they don't quite realize that they have non-working rifles and very little ammo."  
He nodded. "Call sign, Shade. Meet you at the LZ."  
She nodded with a little salute then made her way back to Alec and handed him the rifle with the scope on it. "I 'took' out the scout and grabbed his weapons."  
"Good," he said and cleared the rifle, finding it in good order and with a full mag. Slapping the mag back home he primed it then set the safety on. "After you."  
It was a good two hours later that they came across the next issue. There was a group of three waiting in a cluster of bushes ahead of them. And from what she could see through the scope of the rifle she borrowed, they wouldn't be easy to take out. Handing the rifle back to Alec she got down and motioned to him.  
"There are three in a patch of bushes at one o'clock and ten meters ahead," she said quietly.  
"How do you want to do this then?" He checked the rifle again.  
"Circle around to the back and take them out. I hate to go loud but-" she started to say.  
"-but that might make us targets to everyone else that might be around," he finished.  
"Correct," she muttered. "Come on, follow my lead and try not to make too much noise," she teased and got a soft chuckle in return.  
The two crept along the ground around the brush, careful to not move anything or snap a twig. It took them fifteen minutes to get behind the three soldiers and then she got to her free and Alec followed behind her. She crept closer and suddenly a tinkle of sound was heard and the three started to turn. Her shotgun went off and one was down. Alec fired on the other with a sidearm and he went down and the last one tackled her before Alec could do anything. He couldn't fire because he might hit her so he waited for his chance.  
Riley found herself on her back with the heavier man over her. She slithered her leg up and around his neck and then heaved, straightening her legs. That got his attention and he broke her hold. Both combatants got up and a flash told Riley he had a knife. She pulled her kbar out and he charged her again, slashing at her arm.  
Riley met his strike with her knife and slashed in response back to him. The two danced, knifes striking against each other in whirlwind of blades and fists. She moved slowly to the left, remembering a tree was there behind her and when he thought he had her trapped, she dodged as he struck to stab her, the knife driving into the tree instead. She stabbed out and the man abandoned the knife before his hand caught her wrist and she was disarmed.  
Alec saw his chance then and lifted up the rifle, scoping in on the back of the large man. He fired one shot center mass and the man grunted as he dropped to his hands and knees.  
Riley heard cursing as the man fell and she chuckled at him before helping him back up. "Dead now," she said dryly and the man nodded, pulling the shield up.  
"Call sign Tank. Better go check on Snake and Van. We will see you at the LZ." He said with a grin and wink. The other two were groaning at the discharge of weapons but neither were bleeding.  
Riley grabbed some ammo from them and then they moved out, slowly but steadily moving closer and closer to the LZ. Alec waited till they were well away from the last encounter before talking.  
"Live fire?" He shook his head slowly.  
"They have hella better armor than we do not to mention we have underpowered weapons," she explained.  
Alec nodded, that did make sense to him. "How much further do we have?"  
Riley paused and pulled up the pad display, rechecking the distance and direction a moment. "Hmm, another good hour of walking I think." She pulled out a ration bar at that moment and opened it, breaking it in half and offering Alec one piece.  
Alec took it and bit into the bar as he pulled his canteen out and took a drink. He passed it to her and she took a swallow to wash the ration bar down. "I haven't heard anything from the rest but the TI did say we could do this any way we wanted."  
Riley nodded and then shouldered her shotgun. "It's another hour at least so let's get going."  
The two made it to the LZ with only one more encounter which they had to separate and take down each scout at the same time then circle around what appeared to be a main camp. Riley was gifted with another name, Boar and Alec was given the call sign Eagle from the scout he took down.  
Riley paused at the edge of the LZ, peering around to make sure it wasn't a trap. Alec waited for her to make a decision and then the two stepped out into the clearing where a few shuttles were waiting along with some of the soldiers they had taken out. Tank laughed when they appeared and pointed then the rest turned and quite a few grins were directed towards them.  
"Welcome to the LZ. We were waiting on you two. Get in, we are heading back."  
Riley nodded. "Sounds good," she said then removed the mag from the shotgun and cleared the chamber. She repeated the action with her sidearm and then climbed in and sat down next to Boar.  
Alec echoed her actions and gave a wry grin to Snake once he took his helmet off and ran his fingers through his dark, sweat streaked hair. "So we the first?"  
Shade shook his head. "Naw, had to evac three out about two hours ago. They got ripped up a bit by Crow. But you two are the first to make it safely to the LZ which counts a lot more."  
Tank laughed and then closed the shuttle door and banged on the cockpit wall. "He's right. We expected about four of your group to actually make it and didn't expect ya'll to make it in time."  
"Ah, well I suspect none of the rest will make it in time then," Riley took her helmet off and then combed her hair back with her fingers. "Ugh, I'll be glad to take a shower when I get back. Hate the heat and humidity."  
Shade barked a laugh. "Yea, they'll get another chance before they wash out. And probably cover their asses better next time."  
"Pain's a great motivator," Riley said and then rested her head back against the shuttle wall which was much cooler than her head was at that moment.  
Alec reached out and tapped Riley's arm with a grin. "Well we did hurt some egos," he said with a smirk.  
That set off Shade who started laughing hard enough he was coughing. Riley just smiled at him, taking a little longer than normal to look away. Damn, both of them looked so similar to him that she closed her eyes. The only one that saw the brief pain was Tank and he glanced at Alec a moment before pretending everything was ok.  
________________________________________  
"So she snuck up on me and cut my throat. Cheeky lass," Shade said to Dane.  
Dane looked to Tank and he grinned briefly. "Took out Snake with her shotgun and Ranger's boy took Van out with the borrowed rifle. I caught her by surprise and she showed admirable skill with her knife. The boy got me in the back though." He had a sheepish look on his face at that moment.  
"Boar? Eagle?" Dane then looked at the last two.  
"They split up. Took us both down at the same time right outside the main camp while we were doing a patrol route. I'd say she's got great tactical awareness and he can follow orders. He's so use to following his old man that we might have to separate them during training and see how he can do when he's in command," Boar said with a thoughtful expression.  
"True. Alec followed her to the t but he let someone who had apparent experience lead. Smart of him. I'd say let them be for now and see how he comes into his own. If he's anything like Ranger he's going to be something to be reckoned with in the near future," Eagle added.  
"And let's not forget that she was the only one to clear her weapons," said the TI.  
"Oh? She did, Rock?" Dane turned his attention to the last one who had been silent the whole time.  
Rock nodded. "She left the rifle on the shuttle. No one seemed to notice that. When she got out of the water, Alec was a few seconds behind her and he cleared his weapon after she said something I bet."  
Dane looked away from them in thought. "Prepare the Gauntlet for the day after tomorrow."  
Tank's eyes widened a moment and then he nodded. "Any bets on her making it through?"  
Snake laughed. "Yea I got some cred on her passing."  
Dane glanced up with an indulgent smile. "Alec shows a lot of promise knowing when to listen. Let's see if she can figure out what to do there by herself."  
Rock stared hard at Dane a moment. "You are thinking... that?"  
Dane tilted his head slightly. "If anything, Riley is the one that we don't know that much about so it would give us a better idea."  
"Shake the barrel and see what floats to the top," Shade stated.  
"Just so," Dane responded with. "You are all dismissed. Get some rest and go see Scalpel to make sure you are in shape for the Gauntlet run."  
________________________________________  
Riley had just finished her shower and pulled on the fatigues that she had been supplied with when the door opened to her room and Hawk walked in. Bell was laying on the bed and lifted her head up briefly before laying it back down on her paws. Riley just arched a brow as she sat in the chair and pulled her boots on.  
"Dane would like to talk to you," she said to Riley.  
Riley glanced up and then nodded. "When? Now?" She tied the laces of her boot and then tugged the other one on.  
"After lunch which is about to start. The last of your group finally made it back. When you are ready to leave the mess I will guide you to his office," Hawk said and then waited for Riley to stand and follow her out.  
The two headed to the mess and separated. Riley took her tray and set it down across from Alec with a faint smile. He glanced up and grinned at her briefly before turning back to the man sitting next to him.  
"So Willis, like a idiot, starts firing. He hit Jan in the leg and then Mole steps up and cracks him across the back of the head, dropping him like a log." The man said then shoveled a fork of stew into his mouth.  
"So that's why they had a few evac'd out," Alec mused.  
The man snorted. "Yea, Willis is not staying, not after that. Jan's ok though, it was a through and through. Be out a few days to a week from what they said."  
"Oh, Riley. This is Daniel. Daniel, Riley," Alec said as he motioned to them.  
Daniel nodded and offered his hand to her. "Nice to meet you. You're the new one they shoved into our group?"  
Riley shook his hand and nodded as she went to start eating. "Yea."  
Daniel chuckled. "You and Alec here are the only ones to make it out in the time limit. From what I hear you got the higher ups attentions now."  
Alec winced slightly at that as Riley stared a moment at Daniel. "I was never not going to have their attention," she said softly.  
Both men gave her a questioning look and she just smiled. Alec realized she wasn't quite willing to tell either of them why and he gave a shrug and nudged Daniel before he could ask. The man realized that perhaps being too curious wasn't a good thing and gave her a grin.  
"So…," Daniel started. "Will you be joining us tonight too?"  
Riley shook her head. "Only in the mornings and afternoons." She finished the stew and then washed it down with some water.  
"How did you do today?" Her sharp glance darted towards Daniel and he flushed slightly.  
"Got taken down at the camp. Decker should have really not just Rambo'd it. He got taken out the moment he stepped foot into it. The rest of us didn't fare any better," Daniel said and shrugged.  
Riley nodded as she finished her water and she caught Hawk there waiting. "Well I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow?" She stood up and picked up her tray and glass.  
"Sure," Alec said with a smile.  
Daniel nodded and gave a little wave, watching as Riley walked towards Hawk and the two left, then he turned towards Alec. "She's hot."  
Alec almost spit out his water when Daniel said that, not that he disagreed. "What?" He sputtered at Daniel and the man started to chuckle at him.  
"Ohhhhh, you like her don't you?" Now he was teasing Alec. "Can't blame you. That dark hair, those eyes and her smile would kill a lesser man when you can get it to show." He pressed his hands to his heart and leaned against Alec.  
Alec laughed and pushed him away. "Get off, you idiot," he said and then lowered his fork down. "But I can't disagree with you either." He frowned slightly. "Not that I think she's got eyes for anyone. You get that feeling from her that she's trying to isolate herself."  
Daniel just stared at his friend a moment, astonishment crossing his face briefly. "Woah, you got it serious," he said and shook his head.  
Alec jerked his head up a moment. "What?" His brows furrowed before he gave Daniel a strange look.  
Daniel chuckled softly. "You were following her to watch her ass weren't you?"  
Alec scowled at Daniel. "Jesus man, you are more perverted than my old Sergeant was." He looked away then. "She's good. It's not hard to follow her when she's got such tactical awareness it makes me-" he cut off his words before he said anything damaging.  
Daniel chuckled at Alec again and gave him a understanding smile. "If you want her attention you better be at your best then man, otherwise she'll leave you behind."  
Alec turned to watch the direction Riley had left, realizing that if he indeed wanted her to see him, he would have to work very hard to be her match and equal. Giving a sad smile he turned back to his mean and dug into the stew. "Yea," he said thoughtfully.


	5. Chapter 5

Hawk silently lead Riley through the halls, taking turns and finally came to a stop before a single door with K on it. "Go in, he's expecting you."  
Riley glanced at Hawk a moment then nodded, taking the door's knob in her hand and turning it. She entered the office to see a man sitting behind a ebony desk. Behind him on the wall was a screen depicting the whole North American continent. There was little in the office beyond the man, the desk and a few chairs.  
Silently Dane watched as the woman entered the room. She briefly glanced around before watching him and he gave a smile inwardly to that. Sharp. She checked out to see what there was and he was again impressed with her awareness. She was shaping up already into the finest candidate they had to date. With a gesture he motioned to the chair before his desk and she took it without a word, relaxing into it.  
"Riley Sal'ven," he said and she arched a brow. "Oldest living human in the entire history of our race. Too good to be true."  
Riley leaned back in the chair and shrugged a bit. "There are reasons," she said quietly.  
Dane leaned forwards. "Yes, that is what you've said before. So convince me."  
Riley gave him a wry sort of smile before clasping her hands together. "It started a very long time ago. The Protheans were an empire of a mixed races. They were attacked and eradicated by what they called Reapers. At least that's what it translates to. With so many of them dead or turned, they turned to stasis hoping to renew their empire once the Reapers were gone. This didn't work as hundreds of years went by and the Reapers systematically wiped all traces of their civilization out. Power can only last so long before it is gone and that is what happened to them. When the Reapers finally left for where ever they came from, there was very few left. "  
Riley paused and looked away from him. "Three Prothean scientist experimented. They did things they would have never done if not for what happened. They, for the lack of anything better word wise, they experimented with wormholes and theories of time travel. One day they broke through, not realizing what had actually happened was they broke through into a alternate universe. Mine. The wormhole dragged me and my pet through to them."  
Here Dane noticed she clenched her hands into fist. He could tell she wasn't happy and he said nothing, waiting on her to speak. The woman before him was silent a few minutes before she started speaking again, her voice softer.  
"Five years they experimented on me. Changed me, strengthened me and educated me. Then they woke me up. I am the ghost from the past come to wreak vengeance on the Reapers for them," she said and then stared down at her hands.  
"There is something I should warn you about. alternate universes and all means this never happened for us, what you have now. There is no mass effect tech in my universe whereas here, you are just discovering it. To me, your universe was a game, something to play. From what we all understood was that things leaked between universes touching upon each other. I know that within a year's time what data you gain from the lab on Mars will accelerate your space program into a point where the eighteen strongest countries will ban together into one power, the System Alliance. I know a snapshot of the history that has yet to happen and this is the one part you might not believe," Riley finished, lifting her gaze up to Dane.  
Dane pondered what she said. One of the key things he noted was that she had knowledge of the future. The rest, he didn't care about. Well the strengthening and education did a little. Someone, the Protheans, apparently wanted vengeance. Not that he wasn't impressed with the skill she showed. Then he blinked. A change in the military?  
"What do you mean the System Alliance?" He asked.  
Riley pursed her lips a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Due to the acceleration in the space program from the discoveries of the usage of mass effect fields and eezo, you can make better engines, new weapons and another thing. There will be people out there that develop powers."  
Dane was surprised at the regard Riley gave him, the thoughtful look she had and then she pushed up out of the chair. Not sure what she was going to show him, he relaxed back in his chair.  
Riley pondered a moment what she should show him and sighing she lifted her arm up, making a fist. As she did so a ethereal glow ran down her arm starting at her fist. Unlike the standard blue glow, hers was a golden green color. She focused on the chair that she didn't sit in and lifted it up with an easy grace. Then she dropped it down and the glow disappeared.  
Dane wondered what she was going to show him and he was rewarded. By the time she was done though, he had tried to crawl back in his chair and lean away from her. His jaw dropped at the power she showed and he tried to speak but couldn't.  
Riley lowered her arm and turned to see him basically trying to crawl away from him. "That is what will be referred to as biotic power. As a whole you wouldn't know the name till after a certain event happens. I would prefer to keep the timeline as it is because without it, things change."  
Dane settled down in the chair after a moment, frowning at her. "Is that some sort of telekinesis?"  
Riley shrugged. "The technicalities of it uses the nervous system's electrical charges to manipulate gravity."  
Dane nodded slowly. "And the timeline?"  
Here Riley sighed and sat down, leaning a elbow on the chair's arm and then placing her chin into her hand. "Honestly, the single reason for the tech is so that every civilization follows the same path of knowledge. One the Reapers know how to counter. Which means what I am going to say is going to be harder to do. We can't entirely change our tech to reach to what the eezo tech can do. We need to see what the tech can do and come up with our own version, something different that can't be countered."  
Now Dane matched her, his chin resting in his palm as he stared at her. "Right. Well I can say this. In two days you will be brought to another location. There you will run the Gauntlet. It's basically the final test one receives to become a S7, highest tier rank. I can see we cannot ignore you Riley. We need you more than I think anyone realizes. I am going to ask you to not speak of what you told me to anyone. This is an A level secret that only few will be privileged to know."  
Riley sat back and stared at him, jaw dropping. She snapped her mouth shut and gave him a thoughtful look. As much as she hated it, he was right. "Ok," she said.  
Dane smiled slowly. "And that is why I think you are more than ready for the Gauntlet. You've already shown you can lead effectively with the training mission. You correctly judged what was the best thing to do in the case of what you told me. And I think that I am going to say this, don't use these biotic powers during the Gauntlet but I will let you have Bell. Why not keep the rest on their toes."  
She nodded and then shifted in the chair to get more comfortable. "I woke up expecting that I would not be believed. What I do know of the future is that politics prevents the right things from happening. At the same time, we do not want to be what the Protheans ended up as either. Why are you doing this for me?"  
Dane didn't speak for a few minutes and Riley could tell he was thinking over what he was going to say to her. She waited, needing to hear his reasoning. She was lucky that she was here but fate had a way of screwing things over, especially when the need was great. At least if one was not prepared with a backup plan, which she was.  
"Non audio de umbra," he said softly. "We dare from shadow." He shifted back a little and opened a drawer, sat two glasses down and then pulled out an amber filled bottle. Dane poured two fingers into each glass then set one on the far side of the desk from her.  
Riley quirked a brow at that and then leaned forwards and picked up the snifter, taking a sniff of the whiskey. She raised the glass when he did and the two drank it down. She set the glass back down and he filled it once again then did the same with his.  
"If what you say is true, if we patiently wait a year. Having you where we know you are would be a good thing. If it proves false, knowing where you are is still ideal. Up till yesterday, we had no real idea if what you said of your training was piss and wind. You showed that it was understated. Of that I am very sure of." Dane tilted the glass up and drained it and then refilled it.  
"I can accept that. Before all this happened I was a programmer, a freelancer. I lived alone with a cat and my computers, no family to speak of. Then they pulled me through, gave me no choice and altered me into what you see now. I might be their echo of vengeance from the past but that does not mean I am going to follow their path." She swallowed the whiskey and then set the glass down on the desk where Dane filled it up for her.  
Dane could tell she resented what had happened to her by her stiff jaw, clenched fist and the barely controlled anger in her eyes. With a nod he took a sip of the whiskey then leaned back to ponder the enigma she had become.  
"I understand all too well," he said and saluted her with his glass before finishing it. "Your armor's been delivered to your room. In the morning we have another training session. Full scale assault. You will be part of one of four teams assaulting the location. I am giving you lead of your group. Details will be given tomorrow. Get some rest Riley, you'll need it."  
What he didn't tell her was just how long of a training mission it was and that she would be lead back into the gauntlet when she returned. He wanted to see her under pressure to see how well she did. Born of fire like all their top officers. He watched her rise and leave his office before sending out the message to have her uniforms altered to show the gold cluster of a Lieutenant Commander. She wouldn't see the changes till after she came back from the Gauntlet.  
Riley left feeling a bit adrift from talking to Dane. She realized that things were changing more than anyone had ever hoped. She wanted to stop the Reapers in the long run but she didn't want to lead the universe in a war that would echo the past. She knew, from the games, that doing that would mean they failed. She could guide them towards another path, one that would leave the Reapers struggling in the long run.  
Her thoughts were such a jumble that she didn't realize she was in her room till Bell nuzzled her hand, curious about her thoughts. She shook her head with a sigh and wrapped her arms around the large feline's head and pressed her cheek to the cat's. Then she let all her insecurities and thoughts open to the feline.  
A gentle chuckle came from the cat and she gave a swipe of her tongue to Riley's chin. 'We both knew what the Prothean wanted. Revenge from the grave. You knew that what they wanted wouldn't happen in the way they wished. We bided our time for this so we could do what was necessary.'  
Those words made Riley realize she had been tense and she relaxed with a sigh, rubbing her cheek into the soft fur of the feline. "I know. You are coming with me tomorrow. I don't care what they say."  
She felt the pleasure of those words come from the feline and chuckled. "Well I need sleep and I dare say you've been napping all day luv."  
Bell gently bit her chin and then pulled away, climbing up on the bed and laid down. Riley changed into the tee and sweats then climbed into bed after the feline. Sighing she closed her eyes and sleep quickly dragged her down.  
The next morning Riley pulled on a tee and her bdu pants then hit the mess. From the way the hall was filled she could tell everyone else was ramping up for the mission. She ate lightly, some toast and eggs and then brought the tray over to be washed. The TI was waiting there and he stopped her.  
"Get armored up and meet in the Armory," the TI said and then let her go.  
She exited and headed back to her quarters, stripping off her tee and bdu pants. She pulled on the under suit and then stretched to make sure it settled before donning the armor. Pressing a button, she felt the prickles along her spine as the armor connected to her nerves and powered on.  
After a moment, the sensation disappeared and she sighed. That was one thing that she could never get use to considering the armor tapped into her spine. The last thing she did was curl her hands into fists and let the biotic power that she gained fill her, initiating the last part of the armor's defense. Now it felt lighter, like clothing and she grabbed her helmet.  
Bell was finishing the meal that someone had brought her and she groomed her paws as her ears pricked up towards Riley. With a unspoken word the two left the room, the feline suddenly disappearing from view. With her helmet tucked under her arm she hit the Armory to see it already half filled with people. Some were new to her and others she recognized from the first training mission.  
Alec was standing there in his armor, shifting as he tried to get it settled right. "Hey," he twisted a little and grunted, something wasn't right.  
Riley smiled as she came over to him and set her helmet down then lifted a brow. "What's wrong?"  
He lifted his arm and then shrugged it back. "I think something's twisted."  
"Here," she said and moved over to check. With a quick snap of the strap she released it from his shoulder. "Move your arm around."  
Alec did as he was told and the under suit settled . "Damn it's a bit loose." He now realized what caused the problem.  
"Yea," Riley said as she adjusted the straps and attached them back. "That should fix it."  
Alec smiled at her. "Thanks. Any idea of what we are doing?"  
She shrugged a bit. "Assault on a hideout or something. I was told the TI would let us know."  
He nodded and then picked up his helmet, settling it on his head without lowering the visor. "It's to be expected."  
Riley was about to respond when a loud sound of someone clearing their throat was heard. She turned around to see said TI standing there with a smirk on his lips. "Ok you meatheads. This is a small teams exercise. No more than four per squad. Listen up to your assignments."  
"Sal'ven, White, Smith and Hotaling. Wolf Squad. Montenegro, Jackson, Blasé and McReed. Lion Squad. McCaffery, Cooper, Acosta and Dirksen. Rhino Squad. Adams, Norris, Cook and Travers. Dog Squad. Ryder, Jaeger, Spalding and Wolfe. Cheetah Squad. Sal'ven, Jackson, Acosta, Cook and Wolfe are designated leaders."  
The TI stepped back and another man took his place. Behind him the wall flickered to life to show the overhead of a compound. The wall was outlined in green and the builds outlined in red. Riley stared at the picture before turning to the man who was waiting for everyone's attention.  
"This compound is on the outskirts of the city. A sect of zealots have kidnapped the daughter of a French diplomat. The objective is to get the girl out without getting her harmed or killed in any fashion. We think she's being held here." He turned and circled one of the buildings and it changed to blue.  
"Rhino squad will take the east entry into the compound. There are some nests here and here," he pointed them out. "Clear out any tangos in the way in the buildings on the east side."  
"Wolf squad, you will come in from the south. Your objective if the girl. Clear out any tangos beforehand and find her. There is no nests but this is the main entry with a guard post. You will follow the main road into the compound once inside."  
"Lion Squad, you will come in from the north here," he pointed out the wall. "You'll have to climb over but this is a spot out view of the spotlights they have. I want your squad to clear the buildings on the north side. We don't know how many are in these buildings. Be sure."  
"Dog Squad, you're the west approach. There are nests here and here," he pointed them out. "Clean them up and then clean up the buildings to the south."  
"Cheetah Squad, your objective is to secure the outer perimeter of the wall. Anyone carrying is a tango. Make sure they don't warn anyone. You guys will be first in. Once Cheetah has confirmed I want Lion, Dog and Rhino to converge at their entry points. Cheetah, you will be backing up Wolf's entry once they get in. Once you have the package, you will exfil to this location where a armored SUV is waiting." He ran his finger to a location about four blocks south of the compound and Riley furrowed her brows a little.  
"Let me remind you that this is not like the last drill. This is for real. You better cover your ass or you will find it full of got ten minutes, gear up," he said and dismissed them.  
Riley turned and called Wolf over to her. She nodded to each and then pondered the compound. "We won't have it easy. We are the most likely to be discovered. Silenced smgs and sidearms. Who can snipe?"  
Hotaling raised her hand. "That's why I am here," she said with a smirk.  
Riley nodded. "Grab a silenced sniper rifle then."  
White smiled. "So the new girl is leading. Should be fun. What do you want me and Smith to do."  
Riley nodded to him. "Diamond formation with Hotaling in the back and me at point. You two need to keep a sharp lookout for anyone that might be hiding on the wings. We'll hit the front gate and me and Hotaling will snipe any guards wandering there. If there's more than one you two will have to move in and we'll mark targets and take them down as fast as possible."  
They all nodded, already respecting her well thought out plan. "Once Cheetah gives the all clear we'll start here and make our way up the street to this point where we will count heads. If it's only a few guards then sniping will be easy, if more… you get it. Once inside, ignore everything except for the target building unless tangos get in the way. If so, it's open season on them. Put them down quick and quiet. Once at this door we will make entry and search for the girl. Once we have the girl do everything within your capability to keep her safe. She's the priority."  
The rest of them nodded and then they all scattered to retrieve their weapons. Ranger handed her a silenced pistol and smg with a smile then added the sniper rifle to it for her when she asked. She attached the straps of the smg to her armor and made sure her knife was in reach before slinging the sniper rifle's trap over her shoulder. She brought them over to a ammo box and started loading the mags.  
Ten minutes later the whole group was loaded on two shuttles and in the air, heading off towards the south part of the city. Wolf and Cheetah was dropped off south of the target compound and as one they moved up through the streets and allies. Once Riley's team was at their designated waiting zone Cheetah squad went ahead and started to clear the parameter around the complex.  
Hotaling was watching back down the street the way they came and she was keeping eye towards the front gate. White and Smith kept watch for the side streets and corners. None of them were relaxed at all. Riley glanced at the display a moment then her attention was grabbed.  
"What the shit is this?" Hotaling hissed.  
Riley swung her scope around to catch two large vehicles silently approaching their position. When a man jumped down she caught the weapon he held and she squeezed Hotaling's shoulder and motioned for the other two to sink back into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

"Papa bear, this is wolf 1-1. Do you copy?" She said softly.  
"This is papa bear, go ahead wolf 1-1," was the response with a tinge of confusion in the voice.  
"Two heavy trucks full of tangos are approaching from the south and it looks like heavy weapons. Do we have some backup you forgot to tell us about?" Her display showed multiple weapons within both vehicles. Heat sensors showed about twenty bodies.  
"That's a negative wolf 1-1. Can you id?" The voice now showed concern and she couldn't blame him.  
"Give me a moment Papa," she said and leaned out enough to focus on the group starting to disembark from the vehicles. All of them wore grey camo bdu's and she cursed. "Papa, no id at this point in time. Twenty tangos with rifles and a few heavier weapons."  
Hotaling hissed and Riley turned her head. "It's the local five oh. Why the fuck are they here?"  
"Papa, this is wolf 1-1, confirmation of local leo's, Swat maybe," Riley corrected.  
White cursed softly. "This is so wrong on so many levels. They shouldn't be here at all," he said over the private channel for the team.  
"No shit. Leo's are about to get the girl killed," Smith said.  
Riley brought the rifle up and peered through the scope only to see a tattooed, well-muscled man not in BDUs step out. He carried a non-police issued heavy machine gun that reminded her of a Gatling. "What the fuck is that he's carrying?"  
"Oh shit, that's a Mamba," White hissed.  
Hotaling's eyes widened at that. "Fuck me sideways, that's not the cops, that's the Puga cartel. That man carrying the Mamba is Ernesto Ramirez. Number one MWC."  
"Papa, change of plans. Recall Cheetah back to one street over from us. Keep Lion, Rhino and Dog on mission. We have eyes on Ernesto Ramirez and 20 tangos heading towards the compound."  
There was silence for just over two minutes before someone came over the coms. "Wolf, switch over to Alpha zero zero seven. Cheetah will be on air. Good luck. Papa out."  
Riley switched over with the rest. "Cheetah squad this is Wolf 1-1, do you copy?"  
"You're five by five. Sitrep?" Wolfe said softly.  
"Twenty tangos and a MWC by the name of Ramirez. If you don't know who it is, it's the one with the Mamba," she said wryly.  
"Gotcha. We are set," he said.  
"Gonna need your sniper down behind them and one shot kill on the tangos. My sniper is already heading that way. We need to come up behind and take them out quietly before they alert the compound. Once that is done we can go back on mission. The other squads are clearing the compound."  
"Affirmative Wolf 1-1. Jaeger will meet up with yours," Wolfe said and then slashed his hand out at Jaeger who rolled back and started to head further down the street before cutting over and ended up behind a parked, burnt out car.  
Riley nodded to Hotaling and the woman peeled off to head further back. She found Jaeger and the two of them huddled, scopes peering at the group that was starting to make their way to the gate.  
"Wolf 1-1, sniper team is set," Hotaling said softly as she lined up on her targets.  
"Cheetah, you set?" Riley said quietly.  
"Cheetah is just ahead of them at the alley," Wolfe said.  
Riley quietly lifted up her rifle and then at the head of her squad they crept out low, using the cars parked to hide their movement. She kept her eyes on the Ramirez as she lifted up her rifle and aimed it. "Execute," she murmured and all hell broke loose.  
The next thing Ernesto knew is that his guys were dying around him, blood splattering against the back of his neck as someone's head turned to a red mist. He ducked down and pivoted with his gun winding up. He heard the gun hit pitch and started firing. The next thing he knew was his arm was laying a few yards away from him and in shock he fell over. A shadow detached itself from the cars and came over, kicking the Mamba away and then smearing gel over the wound.  
Wolfe met Riley over the bloody form of Ramirez, nodding as he kept eyes on the street. Riley made sure the man didn't bleed out and he winced to see the arm was neatly shorn off. That made him whistle and Riley glanced up a moment. Then with a faint smile she lifted her fist up and rammed it into the cartel lieutenant's face, knocking him out cold.  
"Damn," he said softly. "Remind me to not get into a fight with you."  
Riley laughed then shouldered her rifle before pulling the smg out. "Ok we'll back you at the gate. I'm gonna say the snipers should get first shot at the guards, yea?"  
"Sounds good. We'll get settled and then go on your word." Wolfe motioned with his hands for Jaeger and Hotaling and then trotted up.  
"Papa this is Wolf 1-1," Riley said on the first channel. "Tangos are gone, continuing on mission. Need a detail to pick up the package."  
"Affirmative Wolf 1-1, team is enroute to your location," came the response.  
"Leaving Wolf 1-3 to guard the package. White took some lead and needs a medic," she added.  
"We'll have your boy looked over Wolf 1-1. Good job and bring the girl home," the voice said and she could hear the humor in it.  
"Wolf and Cheetah are back on mission," she said switching over to the squads channel.  
"Dog has cleared their home," came one response.  
"Rhino's finishing up their section," came another.  
"Lion has a man down but didn't ring the bell," came the last.  
"Snipers, execute," she murmured and the guards at the gate both fell with holes in their heads.  
It didn't take the two squads long to clear the remaining few running around the compound. As a whole, Cheetah entered the side door quietly while Wolf took the front door. With only two guards left, they cleared the girl and brought her back to the LZ with little problem. That's when Bell appeared, licking her chops and some blood from her paws. She jumped into the waiting SUV after the girl and started to purr loudly, nuzzling the frightened child who huddled against her, shivering. That almost broke Riley's heart to see the girl that scared and she took hold of the bar and knocked on the window after closing the door.  
'She is hurt,' Bell said and Riley gripped harder on the bar.  
'In what way?' She wondered.  
'Men did things to her. No, not that. Hand has been chewed on," the feline said, not able to put the right words together.  
Riley's heart leapt into her throat a moment before she calmed down. "Papa this is Wolf 1-1. The girl's gonna need a doctor. Looks like they've tortured her a little."  
"We will have one waiting," came back after a minute.  
Riley ducked down to look through the window but the girl had buried herself into Bell and the cat had curled protectively around her. Smiling faintly, she held on as the suv sped through the streets back to her home. A half hour later had all the teams back though Riley had to hold back the doctor for a moment.  
The doctor realized the issue when Riley opened the door and she gave him a faint smile. "I think that she's feeling quite safe right now. If you want, I'll bring her to wherever."  
"I think she's going to feel safer with Bell right now. She won't hurt you," she added quickly when the doctor started to worry.  
"I see. Well if you would?" The doctor said and fidgeted.  
With a silent word Bell uncurled from the girl and gave her a nuzzle before Riley reached in and gathered her up in her arms. Immediately the girl wrapped her arms around Riley's neck and started to shiver. Bell slipped out of the suv and nosed the girl's arm before following the two inside. They brought the girl to a room and Bell got up on the bed before Riley set the girl down. Once again the girl hid against the feline.  
"She can understand you Doc, just I think it's best to let the girl hold on to something that she knows is safe, y'know?" She gave him a sheepish look.  
The doctor gave a smile. "That is understandable if she's been tortured. Probably that cat of yours is the safest thing around. Once she's settled I'll let that monster of yours leave if she wants."  
Riley nodded before heading out. She knew the girl was safe in Bell's paws so she made her way back to the armory to clean up her armor. Dane was waiting there with the rest of the squads already gone. Without a word he helped her wipe down the blood from the armor and then tossed the weapons she would be using.  
"Machine gun, smg, side arm and knife are all you are allowed." He gave her two mags for each of the guns and she tucked them away. To his surprise she secured the smg to the base of her spine and then checked the machine gun.  
"So do I get to know what's going to happen or is it a surprise?" Her voice was quiet as she fiddled with her helmet's seal.  
"Surprise," Dane said and then nodded to her.  
Riley slipped her helmet on and then waited. He turned and she followed him through the halls to another area. Then he stood aside at a door and motioned for her to enter. She walked through and that's when all hell broke loose for her. Someone grabbed her and tried to snap her arm. She threw herself at whoever it was and heard a grunt from the man as she ripped her arm from his hold. Without looking her knee came up and rammed into the man's stomach hard with a crack of carbon fibers against metal.  
That's when a second person stepped in and wrapped his arms around her neck. Riley bunched her muscles up, lifted both legs up and kicked off the first man, flipping herself over the second man's body and preventing him from getting a stranglehold on her. She then dropped her shoulder and rammed the second guy with it in the lower back which sent him at the first. They went down in a sprawl of armored limbs.  
She had enough time to duck under the punch of a third man and then gave him backhand to the back of his head, dropping him instantly. A forth was there and she saw stars as his armored fist hit her helmet. It scrambled the display a moment from the force and she barely had time to fend off the second punch with her forearm, deflecting it to the side before reaming her forearm into the guy's throat. He went down grabbing his throat and that's when a buzz was heard.  
Glancing around she saw one guy face down, the other two were slowly untangling themselves and the last one was still having trouble breathing. Riley knelt down next to the man and pulled his helmet off then applied the proper pressure which made him gasp but he was able to breathe again.  
Riley chuckled. "Don't surprise me next time Tank," she said with a smile and he grunted at her before giving her a slap on the arm.  
"Yea," he managed to say before taking the helmet Riley offered.  
"Ya'll almost caught me," she murmured to him before standing up.  
He pointed his thumb at the door that she hadn't entered from. "Noted. That's the way you go."  
Riley nodded and walked over, checking to make sure her weapons were still in place. She didn't get much time after to verify as the door opened and bullets peppered the steel around her. She dived to the side and rolled behind a crate, pulling up her rifle and then rolling to her stomach.  
She had a vague direction of where the firing was coming from so she got to her knees and peeked over the crate then ducked back down. That peek was enough to give her awareness of the room she was in. It was large, something akin to a warehouse and had a lot of crates and some heavier boxes. She got to her feet, still crouching down and then ran for the next piece of cover, bullets missing her heels by inches.  
She didn't stay there but continued on towards a larger shipping container and slipped in while the gunman was still trying to pepper the crate she had gone for first. Knowing where the gunman was, when she crept around the corner to see another gunman waiting but looking the other way, she shouldered the rifle and crept up, grabbing him in a throat lock and dragged him back around out of sight. It was only a minute before his struggling stopped and she let him go, taking his weapon and hiding it behind a crate.  
A flash of light across the warehouse and above made her sink back into the shadows and she frowned. There was a sniper out there so she was going to have to hide. Smirking she pressed a button on the inside of her armor's elbow and then cloak came up, hiding her from sight. Crouching down she darted across to another container and out of view of the sniper then she powered it down. Thankfully that only used an eighth of the total charge.  
Now the first gunman was hopefully still waiting for her to appear and she let the battery recharge a little before turning it on. She rolled around the corner to find him peering out behind the crate in a way that said he was worried. She pulled her knife out and crept up to him from behind and wrapped her arm around his head, pressing the dull edge of her knife against the unarmored part of his throat.  
"Dead," she hissed softly and he grunted, relaxing. She laid him down and without looking, she found another hiding spot before releasing the cloak. The battery had almost drained out from that. Taking a slow breath she watched the battery slowly rise up again to the point where she was feeling safe enough to use it for the distance she had to cross between her and the sniper.  
Quickly she used the cover and cloak to make her way to just below the sniper. He was laid out on some scaffolding. The boards were not bound to the frame at all and she smirked. Turning off the cloak she hit another button so that the armor could help her by increasing the power to the joints. She jumped up, grabbed the boards and tore them down, pulling the sniper down with them. He yelped as she stepped on his neck and poked his head with her rifle.  
That's when the last guy attacked, turning the corner and lifting his weapon up. Riley dived to the side as the air was suddenly filled with bullets and she slid on the floor behind a crate then pulled her smg out. The weapon chattered almost silently as she sprayed it at the last guy. She dropped it and picked up her rifle then and rolled to the other side of the crate, firing it at the man who had swung his weapon towards her. Bullets pinged off his chest and he snarled, tossing his gun down.  
The sniper laughed and got up, giving her a hand and a slap on the back. "Good going. Red was so sure he'd catch you. You got some tricks there."  
Riley nodded with a faint smile then looked over at Red who was frowning at the scratches to his armor. When he realized they were watching him he lifted his head up and rolled his eyes. "On with ye lass," he said and pointed to the door behind them.  
Riley gave him a little salute and smiled before turning and heading through the door. Here she came to a stop to find one person across from her. From a glance she could tell that this was supposed to be a hand to hand but she pulled her sidearm out and fired it once, hitting the figure's chest dead center even as the bullet pinged off. The figure stumbled with a hand pressing to the spot and a buzz rang out.  
"Lieutenant Commander Sal'van, stand down," a voice said and then the door across from the room opened and three figures entered. Dane stood between another man and a woman that she had yet to meet and she holstered her sidearm then removed her helmet and tucked it under her arm, watching them.  
Then she froze and quirked a brow at Dane due to the naming of rank. He smiled briefly before the woman stepped forwards and eyed her. Riley tensed up at that then relaxed a little.  
"Lieutenant Commander Sal'van, was there a reason you fired upon Commander Hawke?" The woman tucked her hands behind her back and waited for Riley to answer.  
"No one said I had to actually fight hand to hand," Riley answered with.  
The woman nodded and stepped back then the unknown man stepped forwards. "Lieutenant Commander Sal'van, do you understand, by what you've completed and done, the duties that you will be responsible for as a member of this group?"  
Riley turned her attention to the man and stared at him. "I do," she finally answered after thinking it over.  
Dane stepped forwards now and came up to her. "As of this moment you are now a Lieutenant Commander of the United Territories of North and South America. You will follow your duty as given by the command of this group, no matter what happens. If you fail in these duties, you can and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the Naval laws of the UTNSA. Do you understand?"  
Riley nodded. "I do."  
"Good LC, because now the hard part begins," Dane said with a smirk. The other two chuckled and Hawke just sighed. "Go take a shower. You'll find your updated BDUs in your locker. Then Hawke will bring you to meet with us three. Dismissed Lieutenant Commander." He saluted her and Riley quickly echoed the gesture before Hawke waved her over.  
"Thanks for that, by the way," Hawke said with a tone of respect.  
"Why?" Riley glanced over in surprise.  
"No one ever passed that part of the Gauntlet till now," Hawke added with a faint smirk. "Why did you do that?"  
"Ever see any of the Indiana Jones movies?" Riley grinned over at her.  
Hawke's eyes widened a moment then she laughed. "Oh my god, a perfect movement."  
Riley nodded. "I couldn't really help it. My gods I can't believe those movies are still around."  
Hawke glanced over at her. "Remakes," she answered. "Though the original still manages to find a way to rip the heart out of the copies."  
"Ha! Harrison Ford must be dancing in his grave," Riley said with a laugh.  
"Well his great, great-granddaughter is definitely reaping those rewards. But she's as much an action star as he was," Hawke responded with before stopping at Riley's door. "Good job."  
Riley nodded. "Thank you. Give me a half hour and I should be good to go."  
Hawke nodded. "Then I'll return then." She turned and walked away.  
Riley entered and pulled off her armor quickly, finding she was a bit bruised from the fighting. She left her armor neatly piled against the wall for later and stripped down, turning on the shower. Once the water was warm she scrubbed the sweat from her hair and body. Since she didn't have time to wallow in the warm water, she shut off the tap and then quickly dried off before grabbing her updated uniform. There was a pair of dress blues with the Lieutenant Commander leaf and the sleeves bore the stripes of her new rank.  
She grabbed the BDUs and underclothing and dressed, stamping on her boots as a knock was heard at her door. "Come in," she said, lacing up her boots.  
"Good, you're ready," Hawke said as she entered, studying the change of uniform. It looked right on the strange woman. When Riley was done, Hawke exited the room with the new LC following at her heels.  
Riley glanced down a moment to notice something on the left breast pocket of the shirt. She read it upside down as a K and the number seven. "Hmm what does K7 mean?"  
"Top ranking of the UTNSA special forces," Hawke said and then realize Riley had stopped. She turned around and blinked at the woman.  
Riley froze up at that and then gave Hawke a dumbfounded look. "I what?"  
"Hmm, I guess Dane didn't tell you everything. I'll leave it for him to explain since he forgot," Hawke said with a roll of her eyes. "Now stop dawdling Lieutenant Commander."  
Riley lurched after Hawke with a frown. And she almost bumped into the Commander when Hawke stopped before a door. She came up quick and took a step back as Hawke knocked on the door and it opened. The woman entered and Riley followed in on her heels, glancing around.  
The room was oval in shape with a table in the center. Around the table were chairs and Dane was sitting down in one while talking to the woman that Riley had met before. The man that hadn't given his name was walking back to sit down and Dane glanced up then pointed at the chairs across the table. Riley walked over and lowered herself into one of the chairs.  
"Ah, thank you Commander," Dane said and smiled. Hawke nodded and left Riley with the three. "Now Sal'van. We have quite a few things to discuss. This is Duke and Ice," Dane said as an introduction to the two. "We three lead the special forces units here. I've talked to them about what you told me the other day so they are up to speed. We all agree you need to be the focus for the future for when things start to happen."  
"What Dane is saying is that we are going to accelerate your knowledge of things so that we can place you in the best spot you need to be to interrupt the timeline. We won't ask you to do specific things. That we will leave up to you," Ice said as she leaned back.  
"But what we will do is make sure you get experience with the other federated countries' Special Forces so that when time comes, none of them will disagree that our program should be the first. We'll be treating with the other commanders and do so on the regular basis but you are our poster child for the most part," Duke picked up from Ice.  
"The difference between what you knew and what is now is pretty big Riley. North and South America merged together into the United Territories. For the most part Europe has stayed the same except for the Soviet Union. That finally fell when the Vuktyl and Ladushkin disasters happened. With half the SU either burned up or subject to nuclear fallout, the people finally revolted. Of course the Brits, French and us helped them." Dane poured a glass of water and set it before Riley.  
"Then the Middle East is still shattered though now Israel has become the major power there. We work with the Mossad a lot. I can't begin to understand the impact that research station we found you in will have with the world," Duke said.  
Riley took a sip of water and leaned back. "Bring the discoveries that the eggheads gain to the seventeen strongest nations. They will be the backbone of the System Alliance in the near future. We will have to share what we learn to change things and it will be a positive change. That's the first suggestion I have. Not sure how you can bring that about but I'll leave that to you three."  
Ice gave a soft laugh. "Smart of you to say that. I believe you are right. We can't keep this hidden because we can't be the only one mucking about with this new tech."  
Duke frowned slightly. "Well the Unified Nations or we can make sure the tech gets leaked out. Either works. If we want to make sure these other nations join us, I think giving without asking is the best policy."  
Dane turned his head towards Duke. "Then the Unified Nations would be the best bet. And we might be able to grab the lesser powers too."  
Riley smiled. "Well I would say if you can drag in more than just the top seventeen then I can't see that changing much except making the System Alliance a real merger of the countries of Earth. I never knew more than the bare bones of the history because I never paid much attention to that in the game."  
Ice nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'll get my guys to work hard on making a good mock up that will show the UN the new tech. They won't believe we are freely giving them this but once they have it, we can hope they will be more able to join forces when the time comes."  
"There's an object out there called a Relay that will change things. Its location is in the data from the archives of the research station. It won't be hard to find if one looks for it," Riley pointed out. "I just think it would be better if it was found without me actually telling ya'll."  
All three nodded and Dane spoke for them. "We agree."  
"So that leaves me being busy as hell in the near future," Riley mused.  
Dane just smiled at her. "You knew the cost from the beginning."  
She nodded. "Sadly after I was pulled through. They couldn't put me back." She sighed and rubbed her face "Not that I had much back then."  
All three could hear the bitter tone she had and glanced at each other a moment before pretending they hadn't heard that. Riley finished the glass of water and then turned her attention to them. "So what now?"  
"You have two options. Some leave or going straight to work," Dane offered.  
Riley pondered that a moment and then nodded. "I think I would like to see the changes that have happened."  
Dane nodded. "Ok We'll settle two weeks leave time to start the day after tomorrow. Now we will let you get some dinner and maybe show up a little."  
Riley smiled slightly. "Sounds good," she said and her stomach growled.  
They all rose up at the same time from their chairs and Riley gave them a salute which they returned. Then she headed back to the main complex, searching for dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

As normal, BioWare owns the world I get to play in.  
________________________________________  
Riley  
Rio de Janeiro  
Day 9 – 14:34 Zulu  
Hawke knocked on the door and waited for Riley to open it. She tilted her head slightly to the woman. Riley eyed her a moment then shifted back and let her in. She went back over to a suitcase and eyed it wearily then sighed before turning back to Hawke.  
"So what's up?" Riley crossed her arms and leaned against the locker.  
Hawke glanced around the bare room then turned her attention back to Riley. "Dane forgot but your designation is 'Alpha' when you are out there on duty. We'll get it on your armor. We also will have to repaint your armor to match up with all the K7s."  
Riley furrowed her brows up a moment then nodded. "Sounds reasonable. I honestly didn't like the white theme going on with it. It was a huge shoot me now target. Black and red scheme?"  
Hawke gave a wry sort of smile in agreement. "What?" She had to think about the question a moment before nodding quickly. "Yes. Red stripe down the left shoulder. But the color can be any pattern and color you wish."  
"So… very similar to the games then. I'd prefer black and grey camo then. I can use the assault setup but I'd prefer the tech setup when it comes out."  
Hawke laughed. "We have a tech setup but it's in its infancy stage. I'll get you with Zeta before you leave so he can go over it with you then. You might be able to help him iron out things. We have some tech adept K7s that would benefit from it."  
"I would suggest assigning me to his section at first then. I have a lot of knowledge that can be used there. Always had an affinity with tech." Riley gave a smile and that made Hawke snort in amusement.  
"You and Zeta will get along perfectly then. He's a techno-nerd. I'll make sure you get assigned with him when you are not out on assignment. Give you a reason to test things too." Hawke pondered things and then nodded. "Yea, I'll make sure you are in that spot."  
Riley nodded, feeling a bit relieved. "Good, at least I won't feel out of it."  
Hawke gave her a look then nodded. "I understand."  
Bell at that point yawned and rolled over to her back, stretching out which made Riley grin a moment at the cat then frown. "What am I going to do with her?"  
Hawke shifted and took a step towards Riley then pulled out a card and offered it to her. "Blanket pass which includes having Bell with you. We do have quite a few safe houses around. Let me know where you plan on going and I'll give you the info on locations. If she doesn't mind being left alone if you go out…?"  
"No, she doesn't mind at all. That reminds me, how is that diplomat's daughter?"  
Hawke turned her head away from Riley at that question, frowning. "Let's put it this way. We are all glad the culprit is dead."  
She then turned her head back and gave a half smile. "And you took down someone that we have been trying to find for years. Granted he'll never shoot that mamba again. Still not quite sure how you did that…" She trailed off to give Riley a chance to respond but the woman in question just shrugged.  
"That still didn't really answer my question," Riley pointed out.  
Hawke sighed and chewed on her lip. "She will eventually be fine. A few broken fingers which Scalpel fixed. She's gonna need to see a shrink though."  
Riley frowned but nodded. "Never is easy when it's a child."  
"I don't know what i would do if it was my daughter."  
Riley gave a wry sort of smile. "I don't have any kids… not sure I will ever have them either."  
Hawke snorted. "I've seen a few of the guys worshiping you from afar already. And at least one doesn't have that 'fuck and forget' look in their eyes."  
Riley blinked, a blush slowly spreading. She was stunned and her jaw dropped. "What?"  
"Oh god. You didn't know? At least three in your section are eyeing you. And two of them would drop their pants if you gave them a come hither look." Hawke was trying to hold the grin back at the flabbergasted look she saw.  
"I… but…," she trailed off and then hid her face in her hands.  
Hawke's smile suddenly faded at that when she realized just how mortified Riley was and in turn she started to frown thoughtfully. "Never had a relationship before?"  
Riley mutely shook her head as her hands dropped. "One…, a long time ago. I- he…," she trailed off, the silence lasting for half a minute. "I fucked up," she finally said, voice soft.  
Hawke wasn't blind and the way Riley said that meant the woman was far from over a long ago relationship. She was starting to see Riley as a strong woman but at the same time she had no confidence unless it was in something she knew. And Riley knew fighting and war.  
"Worst part is I am damn certain Ranger is his great grandson many times over. Do you know how hard it is to go there and see that? See him? And forget Alec, chip off the old block, my ass." There was a slightly bitter tone in that as she sighed.  
"Riley?" Hawke stepped closer to her and brought one hand up to rest on the woman's shoulder. "If it's any consolation, Alec is the one guy that doesn't just want a roll in the hay with you. He respects you enough to not come on strong I guess. Smart guy but Ranger is razor sharp too."  
"Not like we can do anything which would be unbecoming in the military, yea?"  
Hawke gave a shrug. "There are regulations yes. Things have happened before but if the couple were not in the same unit it would be better."  
She just shook her head slowly at Hawke's implied suggestion and went back to her bare suitcase and then slumped her shoulders. "Guess the first thing I should do is get some civvies. Everyone I own right now is all supplied by the Division." She still pulled a few tee-shirts out and folded them up then the two pair of sweats she had.  
Hawke offered Riley a thin rectangular card which she took from Hawke. She flipped it over. It had her name and rank along with the icon of the Division. Riley flipped it over a few times and then tilted her head slightly.  
"So, is this how they do things in the future?"  
Hawke gave a faint shrug. "As long as I've been living. I know from history that everyone use to use paper currency."  
"True, and a lot of it switched over to electronic before I was taken. It was also easily hacked into a lot. I assume they have better security now." Riley slipped the card into the pocket of her shirt and then closed the suitcase.  
"I intend on heading to New England area. If you could get me locations of t hose safe houses, I'd really appreciate it."  
Hawke gave another of her faint smiles. "Give me twenty and I will have that for you."  
Riley nodded and Hawke left without another word. She felt overwhelmed still, a woman out of time and in a future that had advanced past anything she had ever thought. Pulling the card out she studied it a moment then replaced it back in the pocket. She needed something like a wallet to house it in. That she would have to find when she went shopping. Maybe once she landed. Maybe she could look.  
Riley  
Rio de Janeiro – Leblon Centro Comerical (Leblon Mall)  
Day 9 – 14:52 Zulu  
The taxi set down at the entrance to the mall that someone had suggested to Riley. She swiped the chit and then exited the taxi, heading for the entrance. There was a wall of stores she could see from this side of the complex. Not all of them were familiar to her but it brought her comfort to see a few brands had lasted in the time between then and now.  
A doorman actually opened the door for her with a smile and she smiled back before entering, her eyes flickering around and taking in everything she could. One of the first things she saw was a store that catered to the tech crowd and she headed right towards that.  
One of the first things that drew her attention was a display with a gadget that had a actual haptic interface. The salesman who was standing there saw her eyes light up and he smiled as he moved closer, knowing what she was looking at. Without a word he brought out the box and set it down for her to look at closer.  
"This is Ralston's newest tech. It has a haptic interface as you can see. The newest personal computer around."  
Riley nodded and tested out the interface. She was pleased it was sensitive and it was small enough one could mount it on their wrist if it was a little smaller. She furrowed her brows a little then smiled.  
"Can't say I am not pleased to see this. What's the cost of it?"  
"This retails here for four thousand, six hundred and twenty nine credits. It is well worth the price. Compared to the older touch screens, this is more light weight. The haptic interface was tested constantly to insure it works every time."  
Riley nodded but at that price, she would have to wait and see if she had the credits for that. "Thank you for showing this to me. I might be back later." That gave her ideas and she would have to talk to Zeta about the idea brewing in her head.  
The salesman nodded his head with a smile. He knew she was part of the military but couldn't figure out which one because her fatigues were generic. Could have even been from the local police for all he knew. But her interest was real and he could see her returning at another time and he would have that sale. Just the salesman had no clue how big of a sale it would be later.  
Riley reluctantly left the store and walked further into the complex. There were dozens of stores and she stopped first at a sport orientated one called Echo. In there she bought some running gear. This included tees, sweatpants, sports bras and comfortable track shoes.  
The next store she hit was an impulse. They sold all sorts of leather boots and jackets. She spent a chunk of credits on a pair of boots and a dark green suede jacket that fit perfectly. Pleased with her buys she left and finally found a retail store that sold every day clothing. She ended up with a dozen shirts, a few pairs of jeans and the basic underclothing she needed.  
Her last buy was a carry on suitcase that would hold everything she had just brought. Pleased with her loot she left the mall and realized that she had spent more than a few hours in there. Chuckling at that, she waited for a taxi to head back to the Division HQ.  
Once back to the Division's complex, Riley dropped all her purchases on the bed and then went to find some lunch. Well a late lunch at least. This meant she was walking through the halls towards the mess. A few of the soldiers gave her salutes in pass and she nodded, returning the salute when necessary.  
She almost ran into Zeta as he was turning the corner and it was only her hand steadying his shoulder that kept him from falling backwards. A brow quirked up at the man and then she smiled.  
"We gotta stop meeting like this," she mused.  
"Believe me, I know this all too well."  
He sighed and tilted his head. "Grabbing a late lunch?"  
She nodded. "Was buying civvie stuff which reminds me… saw something we could integrate into the tech setup which I want to discuss with you."  
"Ah. Yea Hawke said something about that. Welcome to the Tech Nerds group. Go grab something to eat and meet me down in my lab after. I'll show you around and we can talk this idea of yours over."  
Riley grinned. "Give me about 20 minutes and I'll be down there. See ya."  
Zeta watched her walk away and shook his head before he continued on his own way, heading back to the lab to work on his latest idea. Well he would after he gathered up the necessary materials for Riley to look over.  
Twenty minutes later Riley had finished her lunch and was heading down to the tech lab where Zeta was waiting for her. Silent footsteps meet her ears as someone came up the stairs as she went down. Alec was making his way up the stairs as Riley was heading down. He lifted his head up and their eyes met.  
Alec almost tripped as his foot missed the next step with Riley there. His eyes moved from hers to her shoulders and the clusters. Riley noticed the fleeting surprise in his eyes as he saw the rank upon her shoulders and then returned to her face as he saluted her.  
"LC, where you heading off too?"  
Riley smirked a moment as she returned the salute. "Going down to the tech lab. Where you heading?"  
Alec smiled up at her as he settled his stance and shrugged. "Quarters. Just got back from another training mission. Scuttle said you were heading out on leave. Where you going to head to?"  
"Eh, somewhat home. New England area…. If it's still called that…?" Riley furrowed up her brows and that made Alec laugh.  
"Ah. I grew up in space. Mom was a trader, Dad met her on one of his missions. Kinda surprising really. But they love each other. I think mom would love you. You both have that same attitude."  
This made Riley arch a brow up in question. "Oh? That same 'don't give a shit' attitude or the 'raging bitch' one?"  
Alec grinned and gave her another lazy shrug. "Either? Both at the same time? Honestly when she was mad I think a volcano had nothing on her. I can honestly see you doing the same."  
"I see where your manners came from youngin'," she teased him. "Any woman would be happy to have a guy like you."  
Alec eyed her a moment, his expression neutral. He got a feeling she was trying to redirect him away from her which didn't make sense to him. So he pondered his words carefully.  
"Maybe. Just gotta find the right one to be receptive. Well I won't keep you and I have to get the grit off so I will talk to you later."  
Riley moved over to the side to let him pass and then watched as he climbed the steps a moment. If anyone were to see her, they would see the frown she wore as she turned away. And distracted is how Zeta found her when she arrived.  
Zeta was working on a console, brows furrowed as he found the faulty connection and fixed it. He heard the door open and glanced up to see Riley there then he turned his attention back to what he was doing. From what he could hear, she was pacing a little but he turned his attention back to what he was doing and ignored her pacing.  
Finally done, he sighed and leaned back, rubbing his neck as he saw his co-worker walking back and forth with her head down. He let her do that and finished closing up the console before leaning back in his chair. "Riley?"  
It took a few times of her name being called before she blinked and lifted her head up to look around. "Sorry where you talking to me?" His response was to laugh and gestured towards the other seat across the table from his seat.  
He watched as she settled down in the chair and then leaned towards her. "So you mentioned earlier about a idea?"  
Riley closed her eyes and then took a slow, deep breath. She only let it out when she finally focused and got her mind in the game. With a nod she leaned an arm on the table. "Was in the Lebon mall earlier and there was that tech shop right at the north entrance."  
Zeta nodded. "Yea, Ralston's I believe. I try to avoid that for the simple reason I can't even begin to browse without putting myself into debt." That made Riley laugh and nod.  
"True. They have this haptic interface, small enough to fit on a arm. If we were, to say, but a dozen directly from Ralston and then see if we can integrate them into devices for the tech adept. Example for hacking and eventual other things, what would you think?"  
She watched as Zeta leaned back and from the glazed over look she could tell he was thinking. And he was. Zeta was impressed in her insight and ponder the question of how far advanced this could send them. "I am thinking you are wasted on the grunts. Calum," he said and offered his hand to her.  
It took Riley a moment before she realized he was giving her his name and she smiled slightly as she took his hand in hers and shook it. "Nice to know your name. Most of them have given me theirs at one point or another." He nodded and then leaned back more to prop his feet up on the table.  
"I like the idea. I think we will have to go to the Ralston R&D though. They won't want to not be in the middle of this." Riley watched as his eyes met hers. "Give me a hour and I am pretty sure we can get them on board."  
"There are ideas I can give them and help understanding. There are plans in my head that can help us." He was sure she left some words unspoken but they all knew the price that would be reaped of them in the future.  
Calum nodded and then chuckled softly. "Give me a moment then." He tugged the phone over and picked it up, murmuring into it a moment. Riley just sat back and waited, not quite sure what he was doing.  
"Hey Jackson. Its Calum… yea. We met about four months ago." He paused and grinned. "Got it. So I have a not so little lady who has a not so little idea that you and your R&D might enjoy." He paused again and glanced at Riley, winking. "Well it concerns your new haptic interface pc's." He waited for a response and rolled his eyes. "Well I know you guys are contracted to R&D with the UTNSA. It wouldn't hurt to hear us out would it?"  
She watched as Calum hit the mute button with his ear stil to the phone. "He's hemming and hawing but we have his interest." He hit the mute pick and chuckled. "Sure, thirty minutes? See ya." Then he ended the call and smirked at her. "We are going to meet their guys in a half hour. So go get changed into your everydays and meet me at the pad."  
Riley & Zeta  
Rio de Janeiro – Ralston R&D center  
Day 9 – 18:05 Zulu  
"Lieutenant McCredy, Lieutenant Commander Sal'van," Jackson Warner offered his hand to the two of them. "Welcome to Ralston Ground Zero, aka R&D complex. If you would follow me?"  
"Thank you for taking your time to listen," Riley said as she followed the man into the building. Both she and Zeta were issued Visitor Ids and clipped them on their uniform shirts.  
"The LC has a very good idea that I think you and your team will find interesting," Calum piped up and Jackson gave him a shrug.  
"The company is still quite new but we have a great team of imaginative folks so tell me, what didn't they already imagine?" Jackson gave them what could be termed a side eye and then swiped his card at the elevator.  
They all entered and he swiped his card again and hit another button that sent the elevator downwards instead of up. This made Riley arch a brow at the man and he grinned at her. "We are all geeks here, so mommy's basement is the norm."  
The elevator dinged and then the doors slid open to show an open room with about eight people either working at a computer or on an item. Riley glanced around then returned her attention to the man as he continued. "So our newest haptic interface pc's. That was Manuel's baby." He glanced around before calling out. "Blanco, get over here!"  
One of them men gave a startled glance up from the computer he was working at and then blinked before standing up. Slowly he made his way over, uncertainty in his eyes as he recognized the military uniforms. Riley would have laughed if she wasn't certain the poor man wouldn't have pissed himself or passed out. Zeta elbowed her slightly and she saw his mouth twitching slightly.  
Jackson turned to Manuel and motioned towards the two. "Manuel Blanco, this is Calum McCredy and Riley Sal'ven. They have a idea to speak of to us."  
Manuel held his hand out and relaxed with a smile. "Pleased to meet you both and thank you for your service. So what is this all about?" He glanced at the both of them with the curiosity any scientist has for a new idea.  
Riley shifted a bit and that brought Manuel's attention to her. "So the newest haptic interfaced pc's you've developed. The idea is to make them smaller and lighter. So mainly when I saw them, I considered that this idea would be perfect for ops. If only they were able to be lighter, smaller and still pack the punch the tech experts need. Like hacking and other defensive capabilities. Kind of a all in one item."  
Manuel's eyes lit up at that and he grinned, nodding. "I see what you mean. IF we were to come out with something that could be worn say like a watch, still have the computing power; add communications and networking along with adapters for interfacing with other systems and having defensive capabilities like say electricity or flammability…" He pulled a tablet out and hit a few buttons before turning it towards them. "I was thinking about the problems with it right now, it is still too large to carry around like a tablet but this day and age people need more than a tablet can supply. I hadn't thought about the interfacing nor the defensive end but I can see how for a military that might be ideal for your people."  
There on the tablet screen was a smaller version of the haptic computer she had seen. It remaindered her more of a Pipboy from the Fallout franchise. She chuckled at that. "We could integrate that into the hardsuit but as a standalone, it needs to be less intrusive. More like a watch as you mentioned. And it would need a powerful power source to create the overloads we need and any hacking capabilities."  
Manuel nodded and pondered something a moment before turning. "Hey Hank, come over here a moment."  
A woman lifted her head up and arched a brow before she got up and made her way over. "What do you want Manny?"  
"You know that battery you've been working on. I think I found a use for it," Manuel said with a smirk.  
"Oh? This I gotta hear then." She started to cross her arms over her chest but then rolled her eyes. "The guys call me Hank but you can call me Erin."  
Riley smirked a bit and shook the woman's hand. "Riley. And this lug head is Calum." She jerked her thumb at Zeta. "So you created a battery?" She looked at Erin then back to Manuel. "What's special about this battery?"  
Erin almost sighed. "The ZPM can power up to 6 city blocks at this point with only a cc of liquid cesium. Cesium, as you know, is one of the few metals that are liquid at or near room temperature. Like mercury basically. When common h2o is introduced it reacts hyperactively, creating heat. Still haven't quite figured out what to do with said heat. That's the problem with the ZPM."  
Riley nodded thoughtfully. "Well the heat could be used as a polarized weapon. Sort of like spitting flames or plasma. As a military application. We are talking nonradioactive cesium, right?"  
Erin nodded. "Yes and radioactive version produce a lot more power I think but it is less safe. As you know, it was used in the very first TVs that used vacuum tubes because it increased the conductivity of electricity passing through it."  
Riley gave the woman an impressed look. "That is really old school thinking. I like it."  
Erin smiled. "Which is why I can keep up with these idiots here," she said fondly and patted Manuel's shoulder. That made them all laugh.  
Jackson glanced at his people then the military and smiled. "I think we can come to a deal with this new application, yes?"  
Calum stepped in then and nodded. "A joint project between us for military application now and in the future less militaristic version in the future." He produced a tablet and offered it to Jackson. The man read it over and then signed it before handing it to Eric and in turn Manuel. Riley and Calum added their signatures after.  
"I will get the badge for… Miss. Sal'ven?" Jackson hesitated, not sure who would be leading the military side of things. Calum nodded to him and he relaxed. "Ok. I think this will be our future in the long run. And we can kill two birds with one stone. This was not what I was expecting but I am pleasantly surprised."  
________________________________________  
So sorry about the silence. Between moving and desperately looking for work, my brain's functions have shut down. While I don't think i've corrected some things mentioned. I hope that I am doing at least a little better. Now i need to focus on my other stories and get a chapter out for them. Enjoy!


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